Nightmare
by DarkShadowFlame
Summary: When Téa becomes the victim of a stalker, she turns to the Wheeler siblings for help. Much to Joey’s chagrin, Serenity suggests going to her boyfriend Mokuba’s home. Will the highsecurity Kaiba mansion be enough to protect Téa? [SetoTéa]
1. Stalked

Nightmare

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Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh or any references I happen to use in this story. This applies for all future chapters.

Notes: Another SetoTéa story. This is the longest I've stuck to any pairing in months. ::shakes fist at Mamono:: Darn you and your SetoTéa fluffiness. There will be other pairings too (all het).

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Chapter 1

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She'd worn that outfit yesterday.

Téa's fingers tightened over the edges of the photograph. Her favorite skirt, pleated so that when she twirled it spun from her body in a whirl of icy blue. Then that casual black tank top that she was slowly outgrowing, where a few inches of flat stomach would show if she stretched. The picture didn't show her feet, but she had been barefoot.

The photograph had caught her dancing. She should have known better than to dance in the living room, where the picture window looked out into the woodsy backyard and anyone could hide. But her parents were right upstairs, and the living room had an excellent sound system. So she'd put in a contemporary mix CD, and immediately been swept away in the pulsating music.

She'd danced for forty minutes straight. It was funny; at the end, when she struck a final pose and held it as the last echoes died away, she could have sworn she heard distant clapping. She'd convinced herself that she was hallucinating, that the last few weeks had made her paranoid.

Maybe not. She looked at the photograph again. The thin strap of the tank top had slipped off her left shoulder. She thought she could remember sliding the strap up again, but she could be inventing memories. It was getting harder and harder to tell reality from fantasy.

She flipped the picture over. There was never anything written there, but the stalker's calling card was scrawled on the back as always. A heart, dripping with blood; scribbled with jagged red lines.

Téa stooped and picked up the plain white envelope the picture had come in. Her nerveless fingers had dropped it when she removed the photograph. This was only the second time someone had taken the photo when she was in her house, her sacred home. The first time had been a blurry shot of her in the kitchen, washing dishes. Her mother had been in the background, talking to someone on the phone.

She turned to reenter her house, but hesitated. Slowly, she swiveled around to scan the neighborhood. The hairs on the back of her neck prickled. The stalker could be anywhere. He could be watching her right now.

She clapped her hands over her arms and practically flew through the door.

x

x

"Did anything important come in the mail?" Aimee Gardner started to ask, but caught sight of her daughter's pale face. "Not again!" she exclaimed, dropping the cutting knife to the table and rushing over, scooping up Téa's cold hands. The edge of the envelope became slight crumpled, but neither of them cared as mother and daughter embraced.

"Oh, honey," her mother murmured. "It'll be okay, we'll think of something."

Téa reluctantly extracted herself after a few minutes. All she wanted to do was stay buried in her mother's arms, listening to comforting words. But there was something she had to do.

Silently, the girl crossed the kitchen and pulled the curtains tightly closed over the window.

Aimee clenched her hands together. "Sit," she gently urged her daughter. Téa pulled out a chair at the table, staring blankly at the half-sliced carrots. Her mother had been in the middle of preparing dinner, but now she was far from hungry.

Mrs Gardner sat down, but edged her chair around the edge of the table so she was close to Téa. "Let's see," she said, voice trembling. Téa gingerly placed the photograph on the dark wood. Aimee studied it from a distance, unwilling to touch it. "When was this taken?" she asked breathlessly.

"Yesterday," Téa answered. She swallowed, or tried to; her throat was dry. "While you and dad were upstairs putting the border in the bathroom."

"Oh God…" Aimee whispered, staring at the picture in horrified fascination.

The phone rang and they both froze. The shrill sound seemed to rip through Téa's bones. Aimee looked as if she were considering not answering it, but her face set and she made a motion as if to rise. But the phone was on the wall closest to Téa. She refused to live like this, hiding like a coward! She steadied her hand and lifted the receiver off the hook. "Hello?"

Nothing. Again. Just the breathing, God, the horrible breathing…

"Hello?" she asked again, more loudly, although she already knew the stalker wouldn't say anything.

"_Téa_," the voice on the other end purred. _"Did you get my present?_"

She screamed and dropped the phone. Aimee shoved her chair back and scooped it up. "Hello?" she demanded into the receiver. "Hello? Who's there?" Reluctantly, she pulled it away from her ear and glared at it. "Dead," she said softly, replacing it on the wall. Immediately, it rang again.

Téa whimpered slightly as Aimee snatched it off again. "Whoever you are, _leave my daughter alone_!" she snapped furiously, and abruptly her expression cleared. "Oh, Aaron!" she cried.

"Daddy?" Téa asked, right by her mother's side.

"Téa? Aimee? What's going on?"

"Another one," Aimee whispered.

"I was calling to check up on you." Aaron Gardner's voice was grim. "Stay right where you are. I'm coming straight home. Don't go outside. Close all the windows."

"And shut the blinds," Téa said, voice quavering.

"Good girl. Are you okay, Téa?"

"For now."

"Okay. When I get home, we're going to the police. They can help us. Don't you worry, sweetie. We'll sort this big mess out."

"Okay," she choked, trying to keep her voice steady. "Goodbye."

"Goodbye. I'll see you in half an hour. Stay safe." With that ominous warning, Aaron hung up the phone.

x

x

Thirty-five minutes later, Téa heard the sound of the garage door opening. Even though she knew it was her father, her heart jumped all the same. What if the stalker had somehow rigged the automatic opening, and was making his way to the kitchen right now? What did he _want_ with her, anyway?

As the door squeaked open, Téa squeezed her eyes shut for the split second before her father's voice rang out. Then she jumped up and hugged him tightly, before his tall frame had made it through the doorway.

Hugging her father always made her feel safe. He was big and broad-shouldered and would completely envelop her when he closed his arms around her shoulders. In this crushing embrace, the first tears that she had allowed herself to shed in five and a half weeks- since the first picture had appeared in a harmless-looking white envelope on her front doorstep- brimmed behind her eyelids and a single one escaped.

"What happened since I left?" Aaron asked, his arms still around his daughter.

"Nothing," Aimee said softly, moving up behind Téa and stroking her hair in a soothing motion. "We did exactly what you told us, and nothing happened. No more phone calls."

"Any pictures?"

"There was one right before you called," Aimee answered.

"God." Aaron loosely released Téa, and she pulled away. "Let me see it."

Aimee wordlessly lifted the photo from its face-down position on the table- neither of them had wanted to look at it- and handed it to her husband. He took it and stared, face growing ruddy with anger.

"We're going to the police station," he said tightly. "We've waited long enough. This is getting serious. When my daughter can't even dance in her own living room-!" He crossed the kitchen and yanked open a lower drawer with a rattle. From it he extracted a huge yellow manila envelope.

In this envelope were all the pictures of Téa the stalker had left. The very first one, while she was walking to school. Joey and Yugi were visible next to her, but it was obvious the focus of the photograph had been on the girl. There were various others, all getting closer to home… Téa in the arcade, with her friends; Téa eating lunch outside at school; Téa in the kitchen, washing dishes. Once, in a fit of helplessness and anger, she'd shredded a picture of herself walking down the street in a light pink jumper. They'd saved the scraps of that. They'd even saved the plain looking envelopes.

Aaron opened the envelope just long enough to drop the latest picture in. "Let's go."

But as they were pulling away in the station wagon, Téa huddled up in the back, something caught her eye. She tried to call 'Stop!', but the words caught in her throat. She reached up and urgently grabbed her mother's shoulder. "What is it, Téa?" she asked, hurriedly turning around. Apparently, the thing caught her eye too, because she put her hands over her husband's on the wheel. "Look, Aaron! Stop the car!"

As he screeched to a halt and Aimee jumped out of the car and hurried up to the front door, Téa tried to shrink into the seat as much as possible. She was now certain the stalker was out there at this very moment, watching her and laughing soundlessly. "Please, God," she whispered through dry lips. "Make this stop, make him go away…"

Aimee reentered the car, shaking her head at her husband. "Let's just go," she said softly. Her eyes were more worried than before. "Do you want to see it, Téa?"

She didn't. But she held out her hand anyway, curiosity overcoming her.

It was a Polaroid this time. It showed Téa in blue shorts and a white long-sleeved shirt, clutching the edge of a picture. Her eyes were large and worried. A closer scrutinization revealed dark circles under her eyes and the paleness of her skin. She looked awful.

But that was the least of her worries right now. That picture had been taken not an hour ago.

x

x

"Miss Gardner, this is a serious problem. We will do anything in our power to protect you."

Téa nodded silently. They'd found the police to be very helpful and accommodating. When they first arrived, Aimee Gardner had taken it upon herself to outline the situation to the black-haired woman at the front desk. The woman listened silently, then had them sit down in the blue plastic chairs by the door. After five minutes, they'd been escorted into a private room by a pair of sergeants.

Officer Leliss was a young woman, not twenty-five. She had blonde hair pulled back into a French braid and small brown eyes peeping out from under dark, curly lashes. She had a surprisingly loud voice for a woman her size- which was petite- but her personality was extremely gentle. Téa got the feeling that Officer Leliss could relate to her situation better than most people. Her partner, Sergeant Sacco, was an elderly man, probably approaching his sixties. He had a comfortable aura about him, like a friendly grandfather. He seemed deeply disturbed by her situation, and his mannerisms radiated reassurance.

Officer Leliss continued what she had begun to say. "There is a standard procedure to follow, believe it or not. You're not alone, Téa. In just this city, five girls have reported stalking in the last seventy-five years. To be honest, three of them were mild cases. The photographs usually stopped after a month or two; we theorize that the stalkers got bored. Two of them were eventually caught, and the third girl moved away."

"What happened to the two others?" Aaron asked, immediately latching onto this unspoken information.

Officer Leliss began to look slightly uncomfortable. "One case of stalking lasted five months before the man was caught. However, in a different case, the girl was murdered after a year and a half of prolonged victimization. Don't worry," she said hastily, seeing Téa's eyes widen. "This case occurred over sixty years ago. And the Domino police force has grown considerably since then. There is much we can do to help you."

When all three Gardners nodded, or at least looked accommodating, Leliss continued. "Here's the plan. I'll go back with mom and dad to your house and we'll see if we can track down where the picture was taken from." She held up the Polaroid. "Téa, if you're okay with staying here alone, Sergeant Sacco will interview you and take down any information you can remember. The more you give us, the better equipped we'll be to hunt down this stalker."

"I'm okay," Téa said quietly. She turned to face her parents, giving them both a final hug.

"Téa, you know that there's no way we're going to Aruba now," Aimee whispered into her hair.

"Oh- _mom_." She didn't know what else to say. Her parents had been planning their second honeymoon for months now. She didn't want to prevent them from going. But on the other hand, no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't tell them to go. She didn't want to be alone, no matter how selfish it was.

"There is _no way_," Aaron restated over his wife's shoulder. He glanced at Officer Leliss, patiently waiting, and nudged Aimee. "Let's go, sweetie. The sooner we get this over with, the better."

She nodded and planted a kiss on Téa's cheek. "You know to cooperate with the Sergeant," she started.

"Of course."

Aimee swallowed, suddenly unwilling to leave Téa. "Will you bring her home?" she asked Sacco. He nodded yes. "All right, then…"

When their footsteps died away, Téa turned back to Sergeant Sacco. "Have a seat, Miss Gardner," he said, smiling at her gently. She forced a smile back at him and sat down, suddenly grateful. She didn't know how much longer her legs would support her. "Would you like a drink?" he asked, sliding his own chair back slightly to the mini-refrigerator. "Water, iced tea, Coke…"

She started to shake her head no, but changed her mind. Her throat was awfully dry. "Coke, please," she said gratefully.

When Sergeant Sacco felt she was ready, he pulled out a notebook. "Please bear with me," he said, flipping to a blank page. "I'll have to ask you a lot of things you've already answered, just for the record."

"It's okay," she answered, taking a sip of soda.

"Thank you," he said sincerely. "Now. You said these stalkings have been going on for approximately six weeks?"

"A little less than six weeks, yes."

"When did you first realize someone was following you?"

"The stalker kept calling my house and hanging up," Téa whispered. "Once or twice a day it would happen. The first few times, we thought it was a wrong number, or someone was calling from a cell-phone and got cut off. Then I started hearing heavy breathing on the other end. When my parents answered the phone, they didn't hear anything.

"The first picture showed up about five and a half weeks ago. This one." She reached out and gingerly tapped the picture of herself in her school uniform, en route to class. The photos were spread out across the sergeant's desk. "They came by about once or twice a week from then on."

"What's this?" Sacco picked up one of the scraps.

Téa flushed. "I tore one of the pictures once," she admitted. "I just got so frustrated…"

"It's nothing to be ashamed about," Sacco told her gently. "I'm surprised you held out as long as you did…"

In his voice was a hint of question and Téa understood immediately. He was half-scolding her for not going to the police sooner, half-asking her _why_ she hadn't.

"I didn't want to bother anyone," she said miserably. "I couldn't tell my friends, because they would worry. I didn't want to tell anyone but my mom and dad, because it was scary and embarrassing…"

"You thought by telling people, it would make it more real?"

She shrugged silently, tears welling up again. She tipped her face up slightly to hold them back.

Sergeant Sacco watched her quietly for a little while, then leaned back in his chair. He folded his hands together, pulled them apart, tapped his fingertips together, then refolded them. "Miss Gardner, do you have any idea why someone would wish to stalk you? Is it misguided love? A form of revenge? Did you upset anyone recently?"

Only about half the world. She swallowed. "One of my friends is… kind of powerful."

At Sacco's raised eyebrows, she resignedly said, "Yugi Moto."

"The King of Games?" Sacco asked, sitting upright. "He's your friend?" He studied her. "Now that you mention it, I believe I recognize you. Your picture has been featured in several newspapers along with him. And… were you present at the Dungeon Dice Monsters duel?"

Her eyes widened. She hadn't thought anything of that. Her connection with Yugi hadn't even occurred to her until Sacco brought it up. "Yes. And that was broadcasted live…"

"Anyone could have seen you," Sacco finished her thoughts. "It's no secret that you are close to Yugi Moto."

She fell back in her chair. Could it be? Could someone be stalking her to get revenge on Yugi? There were so many people angry with him, especially after Battle City and Duelist Kingdom. Pegasus, any of his guards, Kaiba, Ryou Bakura's other half, Marik, any of the Rare Hunters, Rex Raptor, Weevil Underwood, anyone Yugi had dueled and beat… '_I can't mention this to him_,' she thought frantically. Yugi and the spirit had enough on their plates; they didn't need the concern and guilt of _her_ meager problems.

"There are other options, of course," Sacco said regretfully. "You are a lovely young girl, Miss Gardner. Are there any boys at school- or elsewhere- who have expressed any interest in you?"

Her face flushed brilliant red. "No- no more than the usual friends," she managed.

"No boys you have met elsewhere?" Sacco pressed. "No boy inviting you out? No man expressing interest in you?"

"N-" her thoughts flew to Johhny Stepps. "Oh, God," she whispered. "I didn't even think of him. This one man- I beat him in a dancing contest, he didn't take it very well… he dueled my friend- Yugi again- he said he wanted to go out with me- thank goodness for the spirit-"

"Calm down, Miss Gardner," Sacco said, interrupting her babbling. "Do you think this man could be stalking you?"

"I don't know," she whispered. Her throat was dry again, and she took another sip of soda. "I haven't seen him since that day."

Sacco looked thoughtful. "You said you beat him in a dancing contest?"

"Yes," she said wildly, replaying that day in her head.

"Where was this dance contest?"

"Domino Arcade. Dance Dance Revolution."

"So it took place in public."

Her jaw dropped again. "Oooh…" she moaned, suddenly feeling faint. She bent down and put her head between her legs. "It could be _any_one," she whispered.

"It will be all right, Miss Gardner." Sacco had risen from his desk and was patting her back reassuringly. "We're on your side now. We'll help you through this."

x

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"Well, we think it was taken here," Officer Leliss informed Sacco.

He moved into the forsythia plant with her. Aimee struggled out of the bushes and joined Aaron and Téa, standing close together on the streets. The two cop cars were parked in front of the Gardner's house, and the two police officials were now across the street, in the woody area between the two houses of their closest neighbors.

"This looks accurate," Sacco said, comparing the angle they were at to the angle in the photograph. "And it makes sense, too. This would be the most discreet spot, as well as affording the best images of the Gardner's house."

"The only problem would be from that house," Leliss said, pointing at the neighbor to the right. "If someone were in that top room, they could probably see straight into the bushes and get a glimpse of the stalker."

"Who lives in that house?" Sacco asked Aimee, stepping over the forsythias with his long legs.

"An elderly, single woman," Aimee answered. "Mrs Dublac."

"She wouldn't be up in that room," Aaron pointed out. "That's the attic. She never goes up there; it's a rickety ladder that she wouldn't climb. I did some repairs up there a while back, as a favor to her."

"So either someone took a risk, or they did some research," Officer Leliss murmured to Sacco, but Téa heard her anyway. Her stomach clenched; did someone care that much?

"We didn't accomplish much," Leliss said grimly, stepping over to her car. "I don't know what we expected anyway."

"Téa," Sacco said, also moving towards his car. "One of us will drive by every hour. When we're off-duty, we'll send other officers to check up on you. All right?"

Téa nodded. "And," Sacco continued thoughtfully, "We'll place an officer on your walk to school. Plainclothes, just in case."

She didn't ask 'just in case' what. She just nodded again. "Thank you," she said, bowing her head. "Thanks a lot."

"Of _course_," Sacco said warmly as Leliss pulled away. He got into the car and turned it on, leaving the window down. "Remember, Téa: we're on your side."

x

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She stepped out of her house the next morning and glanced around nervously, half-expecting to see another white envelope. There was nothing. Smiling in relief, she started the normal walk to school. Her parents had offered to drive her, as they had done the past few days, but she refused. She didn't want the stupid stalker to start affecting her life- at least, no more than he already had- and besides, people would start to wonder.

She passed by a parked car after about a block or two. A bland-looking man in his early thirties was sitting in it, serenely reading a newspaper. His eyes didn't lift to meet her, not even after she shot him a grateful smile, but she was sure it was the undercover cop.

When she reached the school, the first words she heard were, "Glad to see you're smiling again, Téa."

"What do you mean?" she asked Ryou, the corners of her mouth tweaking.

He looked faintly uncomfortable. "Sorry," he apologized, running a hand through his neat hair. "I shouldn't have said that. I just noticed you'd been looking awfully sad lately. It's wonderful to see you smile."

She put a hand on his arm. "Thanks, Ryou," she said, smiling directly at him. "I'm surprised you noticed, though."

He blushed and mumbled something that sounded faintly like "I'm observant." She gently squeezed his arm and moved away.

The encounter faintly puzzled her, until she entered her first period classroom. Then, she had a lot more to be puzzled about.

"Téa!" A chorus of voices greeted her.

She blinked, sitting in between Yugi and Joey and in front of Tristan. "Hey, guys. Why the enthusiastic greeting?"

"You look great," Joey said, leaning forward and grinning. When she blanched, he hastily added, "Not that you don't always- not that I mean anything- I mean-"

"What Joey's _trying_ to say," Tristan said, punching the blonde in the arm and leaning over Téa's shoulder, "Is that you look happy again. We noticed that you seemed a bit down this past week."

"I- I guess I have been," Téa said, touched. "Everyone's noticed."

"Well, it was _really_ obvious," Joey said eagerly. "Your skin was all pale and blotchy, and you had these huge bags under your eyes- ow!"

Tristan had punched him again, this time a bit harder. "Watch what you say to a lady," he warned jokingly.

"Yeah, like you're the master of knowing what to say to the ladies," Joey muttered.

"What's that? You wanna say that to my face?"

Téa giggled and fixed her eyes on Yugi. He grinned wanly at her. "You _have_ seemed kinda upset. Is it anything you want to talk about?"

She hesitated. Yugi rushed on, "Some kind of problem with your family? Boyfriend? Are you sick? Is everything okay in school?"

"Yugi," she stopped him, giggling again. "My family is great, you know I don't have a boyfriend, I'm perfectly healthy, and things at school are going fine. I'm okay, really I am."

"Are you sure?" he asked anxiously.

"I'm very sure," she told him, splaying her fingers out on the cool surface of the desk. "But thank you. It means a lot."

"Any time," he said, beaming at her.

Téa smiled softly at him, but her eyes suddenly zeroed in on a person seated in front of him. Seto Kaiba was sitting at his desk, book placed neatly in front of him, hands folded in his lap. His head was turned exactly thirty degrees to look backwards. His eyes were cold and furious on his precise and tidy face, and he was glaring directly at her.

She tilted her head in confusion, hearing an explosion of laughter from Joey at her right. Kaiba's face grew even more rigid with anger.

She was about to call out to him and ask him what was the matter, but the teacher entered the class and called it to order. Kaiba's head whipped around and he stared directly in front of him, spine straight and professional.

Téa stared at his back as the teacher called attendance. What was going on _now_? Why was he mad at her? Was it still just the fact that she was friends with Yugi and Joey? She didn't need this now. What was she supposed to do with her life when it was falling to pieces around her?

x

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Narrowed eyes glared at Téa as she walked home from school. Did she take him for a fool? That was a police officer, sitting in the stationary car and studiously ignoring her. He was watching over the girl- protecting her from _him_.

He wouldn't be caught so easily. She couldn't foil him like that. She would soon learn better than to toy with him.

First thing to do was to take care of the cops. They were swarming around her house, like flies drawn to dead flesh. They were out for him. They would like nothing better than to put him away, to keep him away from _her_. Téa.

He murmured her name under his breath, savoring the sound of it. The sharp 'T', sliding past the lips like sweet poison. Then the lightly accented latter portion of her name, drawn out and savory. Just like the hauntingly beautiful girl herself.

A sadistic grin crossed his face. She was trying to protect herself from him, to surround herself with power and muscle to shut him out. But he wouldn't be stopped that easily.

'_Soon_…'

He was crouching in the dirt- not an activity he would normally choose to do, but he reasoned that such sacrifices had to be made for Téa. Soon enough her mind- and delicious body- would open to him, and then he wouldn't have to hide anymore. In the fresh earth, he traced the symbol that she had come to recognize and fear- at least on the outside. While he craved that fear, it was the lust that he knew was buried under there that he truly desired now.

The bleeding heart, with tainted meanings she could only guess at. Yet.

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Notes: I plan to make this a lot scarier in future chapters- at least, for me it would scary. The idea for this actually sprung out of my worst nightmare in years- I figured it worked for Mary Shelley, so why not write it down? (Of course, I can't claim that this will be anywhere near as good as "Frankenstein".)

At this point, your guess at who the stalker is, is as good as mine. Well, not quite, since I do know who the stalker is, buuut… what I mean is, it really could be anyone, as far as you know. It might not be someone mentioned in the story yet. It could even be someone I've invented. Guess you'll have to wait and see, eh?

You know, if you've made it this far you might as well review and make me happy!

Ciao!


	2. Abandoned

Nightmare

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Notes: Throughout the story, I'll use different ways of signifying flashbacks. In this chapter, I use italics, which also function as dreams. You'll be able to figure it out.

Thanks for the reviews. Obviously I can't answer such questions as "Who is it?", but I'll try to clear some things up. :P First of all, my summary is very much long-term. A lot of the things I mentioned in it won't actually happen until chapter 4 at least. Second, in that vein, this has been completely outlined for a while. The plot is entirely my own, as inspired by my own nightmare, which was probably drawn from these three books: _Blue is for Nightmares_, by Laurie Faria Stolarz; _The Stalker_, by Carol Ellis; and _On the Street Where You Live_, by Mary Higgins Clark. (I read all of them a while ago; the first two are sort of out of my reading level by now. But if you're a pre-teen or don't mind reading in that range, they were pretty good. _On the Street Where You Live_ was the best, imo, but _The Stalker_ had the most surprising villain.)

Yamiko Yakou: Sorry, just curious- when you say 'sacrifice these possibilities', you mean you _don't_ want them to be the stalker, right? ::shudders:: I have to admit, if one of them were stalking me, I'd die. Of nausea.

Azurite: It's official. ::holds out wrists to be branded:: I'm converted. ::waves Azureshippy flag::

hobbit13: ::grins:: If you were serious… borrow away. (Just hopefully you remember the unofficial quote, since I'll be changing that part of my bio a lot. :P)

Last comment- I shouldn't play with bubble gum. I just popped a bubble all over my face. ::sighs and begins unsticking self:: Happy reading.

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Chapter 2

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It was odd. She'd spent the greater portion of yesterday cuddled up on a chair next to the window, slowly plodding through her homework but really just watching the reassuring plainclothesman a few blocks away, and waiting for the comfortable and safe cop car that drove by every hour. There were no phone calls, no more pictures. She and her parents had enjoyed the first relaxed dinner in weeks, eating around the kitchen table with the windows thrown open.

But the plainclothesman had been gone as she trudged to school that morning. And now it was two hours after school had ended and not a single cop had driven by.

She dragged her pencil absently down the edge of the paper, not noticing that she was marring her math homework. She shouldn't be too worried. With the protective attitude the police had been exhibited the day before, it was highly unlikely that they would forsake her _now_.

But that wasn't the only thing troubling her. She'd had a very odd conversation with Seto Kaiba earlier that day, and she couldn't get it out of her mind.

_"Hey- Kaiba! Wait a sec!"_

_The CEO's shoulders stiffened as Téa trotted down the hall after him. While the rest of the class was headed off to lunch, Kaiba had immediately taken off for who-knows-where, choosing a route through a largely empty and abandoned hallway. Wanting to know what went on the day before, she had decided to chase him._

_"What do _you_ want?" he asked, quite rudely._

_Her brow crinkled and she took a step back, even though he still hadn't turned to face her. Kaiba, on the other hand, hadn't chosen to stop walking, and after a brief period of hesitation, she hurried to catch up with him again._

_"I just- wanted to ask you-"_

_"Ask."_

_The could-be courteous word didn't come with an accompanying action. Kaiba kept up his swift pace. Téa ran after him, but had the thought that she would give anything to turn heel and flee back down the hall, to the warmth and comfort of her friends. She refused to acknowledge what could be weakness, however, and doggedly kept pursuing him._

_"You were kind of- that is, I noticed you looking at me yesterday."_

_"Excuse me, Gardner? Looking at _you_?"_

_"Well, glaring at me, I guess. What's wrong? Did I do something? Or are you just being your normal asshole self?"_

_The last part burst out without her intending to say it, and another chill ran up and down her spine. What was wrong with her, anyway?_

_"I wasn't glaring at you." Finally, Kaiba stopped, at this time he really did glare at her. Directly at her._

_"Well- what were you doing? It sure _looked_ like you were glaring. Just like you are now." Nervous, but determined not to show it, she brushed a hand in his direction. Behind the cold mask of his face, something flashed. Was the professional Seto Kaiba taken aback? No, she decided, it was her imagination. Just like she was now imagining the leery cast of his face. Was she scared of _everyone_ now?_

_"I was looking at- Wheeler," Kaiba finally said, his eyes narrowing in annoyance._

_"What?" She blinked. "Joey? Why were you furious with him? He didn't do anything." Then again, she reasoned, neither had she. Still…_

_"H'whsrt gnot w'm rutr…" he mumbled._

_"_What?_" This one really got a reaction out of her. Since when did Seto Kaiba mumble? Was he nervous? Embarrassed? Was that some kind of foreign language or saying that she was expected to know?_

_"Nothing," he snapped, spinning and resuming his walk down the hall at an even faster pace than before. He was almost _running_. She stared after him, bewildered. That hadn't made one iota of sense!_

"So weird…" she sighed, glancing down at her paper. She immediately jumped up, spilling her calculator, notebook, and various loose papers all over the floor.

While she'd been thinking about Seto Kaiba, she'd absently doodled the stalker's bleeding heart onto her paper.

xXx

xXx

"Are you okay, Téa?"

She forced a smile at her mother's concern. "Fine," she said, determinedly stabbing a slice of steak and placing it in her mouth.

"That's good," her mother started saying, but she was no longer paying attention. The fluttering of the curtains had caught her attention. She glanced at the window, suddenly nervous. She wanted to close it again, and pull the curtains tight, but… she was just being silly, right?

"…gone for a week and a half," her mother continued, and she suddenly jerked back to attention.

"Wha-?"

Her mother gave her a stern, slightly amused look. "You weren't paying attention, Miss Téa. But that's okay," she said, suddenly smiling gently. "It's everything we've told you before. Eat correctly, don't stay out all night, no friends over, do the laundry mid-week, walk to school as always, see if you can get a ride if it rains… you're a big girl. You can take care of yourself."

"When?" she asked, the steak still in her mouth and suddenly very dry.

"When we go to Aruba, of course," her mother responded. "You know that, Téa. You're just being forgetful."

"But- you said-"

"What did I say?" Aimee asked, putting a hand to her heart. "Please don't tell me I've forgotten something crucial…"

"Well- yeah!" She put her fork down, upset. "You've forgotten that I'm being _stalked_! You said yesterday that you weren't going!"

"Téa," her father said sternly. "You know that the police are watching over you very carefully. Your mother and I haven't been away together since you were born. We've been planning this trip for months."

"The police aren't _here_ anymore!"

"Téa, enough with the hysteria. You're being melodramatic."

"But…" She was close to tears. She glanced at Aaron. His face was set. He looked- for the first time she could remember- disappointed in her. Her mother's lips were pursed, also indicating disapproval.

Téa rose from the table, forcing herself to swallow the steak. "I'll be in my room," she choked, before whirling around and fleeing. She managed to hold back tears until she was safely in her room, restraining herself from slamming the door. She edged it closed gently and burst into sobs.

She didn't want to be selfish. She would support her parents. She didn't want to hold them back on their vacation that they'd been looking forward to so much.

She'd just thought… that she was a little more important to them, that was all.

'_Stop,'_ she scolded herself. _'You're very important to them, but you can't be _everything_.'_

xXx

xXx

Two days, a photograph of her entering the school, and multiple phone calls later, Téa worked up her resolve and called the police.

She'd been so distracted lately, listening in fear and turmoil as her parents discussed leaving on Monday afternoon. The very next day, in fact. She really, really wasn't looking forward to it, and that was a pathetic understatement. She hadn't seen hide nor hair of the cops lately- at _all_.

"May I speak to Sergeant Sacco, please?" she asked, her voice quivery.

"Who is this?"

"Téa Gardner. Sergeant Sacco said that if I called this number, I could talk to him anytime I wanted." She nervously twisted the cord of the phone between her fingers.

"Ah. Sergeant Sacco is busy right now."

She dropped the cord. "Can I please talk to him? If you tell him it's me, he'll talk to me, I'm sure."

"I'm afraid I can't interrupt the Sergeant right now, Miss Gardner. Call back in a few days- if there's still a problem."

This time, she nearly dropped the phone. "A few _days_?" she practically screeched. "You're the _police_ and I have an _emergency_! What are you supposed to do? What am _I_ supposed to do? I'm being _stalked_ by a _psycho_! Hello?"

The line was dead. Closing her eyes, she fumbled with the cradle until she'd replaced the phone. "What _am_ I supposed to do?" she murmured.

"Hello, Téa!"

She spun to face the staircase. Her parents were coming down the stairs, each lugging a suitcase. "Téa, help your mother drag that out to the car, will you?" Aaron requested. Her mother was puffing, red-faced but looking happy.

"I think I'm okay, honey, but thanks."

"Well, I just don't want you to strain your back…"

"That's very sweet of you."

Chatting happily, they moved out into the garage. The door banged closed and Téa stood alone, shocked.

"Hey!"

She dashed into the garage just as Aaron heaved the first suitcase in the back of the station wagon. "Téa, you wanna come with us to the airport?"

"But you're not leaving until Monday!"

"Change of plans, sweetie, we managed to get ourselves on an earlier flight," Aimee said, beaming. "Isn't it exciting? We'll be totally refreshed and ready to hit the beach by tomorrow!"

"Oh," she whispered, suddenly deflated.

"Did you say you wanted to come to the airport?" Aaron asked, sticking his head out from behind the car and grabbing the second suitcase.

"…sure, I guess I will." She wanted equally desperately not to be alone in the house, and not to be away from her parents. Téa climbed despondently into the backseat of the car as Aaron pulled out of the garage.

"Good-bye, house!" Aimee chirped as they drove slowly away. She waved, being silly. "Téa will take good care of you!"

"So you'll just take a bus home from the airport?" Aaron asked, glancing in the rearview mirror. Téa hesitated. The busses wouldn't drop her off directly at the house, just a few blocks away…

"Oh, no, that's not safe at night," Aimee said, as if echoing her daughter's thoughts. "I'll give you money for a taxi, Téa."

"Thanks," she murmured, thinking that only two months ago she would have insisted that taxis were too expensive.

Her parents chattered excitedly on the ride to the airport; Téa made only a half-hearted effort to join the conversation. Her imagination was too busy producing all the horrible things that could possibly happen to her in a week and a half.

xXx

xXx

He'd trailed Téa from the house to the airport. Everything was perfect, perfect… he smirked as the brunette dejectedly hugged her parents goodbye, and craned her neck as they passed through the gate and beyond her sight of view. Hidden from her sight, he snickered a little. He couldn't help it, when he caught sight of her big, blue, sorrow-filled eyes.

As if hearing him, Téa whipped around, searching the airport frantically. She couldn't see him, of course, but his laughter stilled a moment before starting silently up again.

She knew he was there. She could sense him. She knew he wanted her.

And deep down, she knew that she wanted him too.

Soon, he vowed- soon they would be together. His nails traced the bleeding heart on his own flesh.

xXx

xXx

She gave the driver a huge tip, because even though he didn't know it he'd made her feel momentarily protected from a psychotic stalker. She was sorely tempted to explain all this to him, just to keep him there longer since it was growing dark, but her common sense held her back. The driver's name badge read "Steve". Steve was middle-aged and bore a golden wedding band, and she guessed he had children. She wondered wistfully how they looked, and fervently hoped that they were safe. The trials of the last few weeks had opened her eyes to the… 'less bright' things of the world.

Steve tipping his hat at her and pulling away briskly snapped her out of her reverie. She started on the walkway up to the house, fishing absently in her purse for the keys, when the hairs on the back of her neck abruptly started to prickle. Her shoulders tensed, and she resisted the urge to spin around. It would probably only please the stalker more. Who knew how such a twisted mind worked? But she couldn't stop, and didn't want to try to stop, her fingers from scrabbling frantically as she quickened her step up the walk. She bounded up the stairs and pressed against the door. She couldn't find her keys, she couldn't find her keys…

She suddenly noticed how very dark it was. Shadows were looming all around her. Her jaw clenched shut; was that a shadow of a man hovering behind her, silhouetted on the door? The wind suddenly howled past her ear, sending a freezing blast through her whole body. She clamped a hand quickly to her mouth, then resumed her frantic digging for the keys. A horrible laugh started to echo…

There. She shoved the key into the lock, grappled with it for a few desperate seconds, expecting to feel a hand clap on her shoulder at any moment, then flew through the door as soon as it was open enough for her to squeeze through. She clawed at the bolts from the inside, got it secure, and fell to the ground, burying her head in her arms and breaking into tears.

This was a mess. Téa's whole body wracked with sobs. Her parents had left her all alone for a week and a half, the police were completely ignoring her, and she was being torn up from the inside. Why her? Why did someone choose to follow _her,_ to stalk _her, _to make _her_ life miserable? "Why?" she choked out aloud.

_"Tééééaaaa…"_

Her head snapped up and her breath caught in her throat. In fact, she forgot to breathe altogether. She had heard that voice. This time, she had actually heard it, with her ears, and not as some horrid manifestation in her mind.

Was he in the house at this very moment? Somehow, she doubted it. But her entire body tensed up nonetheless.

Worst of all; she'd recognized that voice. Somewhere, at sometime, she had _heard_ that voice and, most likely, _seen_ its owner.

xXx

xXx

She sighed, sinking deeply into the steaming water. Every window in the house had been locked. She'd checked twice. The doors were securely bolted, and all of them had a chair pulled up and wedged underneath the handle. Téa had opened the refrigerator, felt the nausea rising fast, and bolted upstairs. Ten minutes of running water and about half a bottle of bubble bath had filled the generous sized bathtub and she was in it in a flash.

The water helped, at least on the outside. Téa scooped up a handful of thick bubbles and absently mashed them around between her hands. She was tempted never to leave here- at least, not as long as the water remained warm. Her overly vigorous use of the bubble bath had created a foot-high protective wall. Her eyes closed and she battled with sleep for the next few minutes.

Finally, when the water began to cool, Téa cracked her lids and checked the clock. She'd been in the tub for over half an hour. A wistful smile began to tug on her lips; she was pleasantly drowsy and the warmth was definitely relaxing her. So, too, was the soft smell of apricots; her scent of choice in baths. She nudged the hot-water tap with her foot, adding just enough to re-warm the water. When she checked her fingers and saw how shriveled they'd become, she went for the shampoo bottle. Enough was enough, after all. She couldn't stay in there _forever_.

She ducked under the water, massaging it into her scalp. She was still underneath the surface when a funny noise started reverberating through the water. She felt mostly the vibrations. Confused, she pushed her face to the surface, breaking through what bubbles lingered.

Despite the hot water she'd just added, her blood instantly froze and her entire body stiffened. It was laughter she was hearing. The same creepy laughter as before.

Clutching her hands around her body, trying desperately to shield herself, she bolted from the bathtub, paused only to grab a towel, and charged straight into her room. Although the rest of the night was deathly quiet, she stayed huddled under the blankets there. Only a few strands of auburn hair peeked out from under the covers. She found it near impossible to fall asleep; when she did doze off, her dreams were full of darkness.

xXx

xXx

_She was running as fast as she could, but she wasn't getting anywhere. He was right behind her. She knew he was there, and she could feel his breath on her neck and his fingers stretching out for her, but she couldn't bring herself to look. She forced her long dancer's legs ahead of her, plowing over the ground faster than she'd ever run in her life. An amused murmur echoed in her ear. He was pleased, oh God, he was enjoying this-_

_Rough hands grabbed her from behind and she went tumbling to the ground. She fell and hit her head, and felt the stalker climb atop her. Then pain, icy pain coursing through her veins-_

_He was carving something onto her flesh-_

_The bleeding heart-_

_Before her vision completely blacked out, she forced her eyes open. His cruel, grinning face hovered in a sea of red-_

_She knew who it was, and she couldn't place his face-_

And then Téa Gardner woke up with only a sense of chilling fear and a vague memory of a person she should have known.

xXx

xXx

"God, Téa!" her friend Shiara exclaimed. "Are you _okay_?"

Téa slowly turned her head. Shiara, not one for tact, plowed ahead. "You look _awful_. You look like you haven't slept in weeks! And you're so _skinny_. _Too_ skinny, I mean. And- what happened to your hair? Then there's the dark circles under your eyes. Téa, you're not _anorexic_, are you?"

"No," she said weakly, feeling that it would be useless to elaborate further. What could she say? She'd barely slept or eaten in weeks because she'd been so freaked-out by the stalker. And she had only realized what a mess her hair was this morning, because she hadn't rinsed all the shampoo out. But she didn't have time to dunk it under water; she barely had time to brush it, because she'd overslept after half a night of insomnia.

Safe to say that this was not going to be her best day.

Shiara was still talking, looking at her anxiously. "You know what you need, Téa? A five-hour shop-till-you-drop marathon. What do you say, girl? You and me, after school today? We can round up Miho and Nora and go on a spurge."

"No, thanks," she responded wearily, feeling a stab of guilt. But there was no way she could go to the mall with them. For one, she simply didn't have the energy. Plus, she was sure that all her girlfriends would converge on her, trying to pry what it was that was bothering Téa out of the brunette. And she simply couldn't tell them. She couldn't tell anyone. She didn't want to make it anyone else's problem, and possibly put _them_ in danger too.

_Especially not them_, she thought as her eyes fell on her best friends across the room. She bade Shiara a polite good-bye and assured her she didn't have to worry; that she was fine. She made her way over to where Joey was holding court. _Especially not Yugi_. He would guess right away that whoever was stalking her maybe had something to do with their connection. And she knew Yugi; that would tear him apart. He was too sensitive, he'd take it to heart, he'd feel too guilty. For the first time, she felt an urge to protect _him_.

"It's great that you've been spending time with Serenity," Tristan said, stroking his chin. "So, uhhh… when can I come over?"

Joey glowered at Tristan and continued speaking, directing his conversation mostly toward an interested Yugi. "Yeah, Mom gave her permission to come over every other day after school. Then Mom picks her up at night. Sometimes the three of us will even go out to dinner together."

"That's great news for you, Joey," Yugi said earnestly. Joey beamed.

"It's fantastic that you can bond with your sister like that," Téa chimed in, coming up over his shoulder.

"Hey, Téa," Joey said, twisting around just as Yugi gladly chirped, "Téa!"

"You look awful again," Tristan said bluntly.

Joey glared at his friend. "Excuse me, Mr Watch-what-you-say-to-a-lady!"

Tristan had the grace to blush. Unfortunately, so did Téa. The redness stood out starkly on her pale cheeks. "Now what's wrong?" Yugi asked in concern.

"Nothing, guys," she muttered, ducking her head away. "It's okay. I mean, I'm fine."

" 'It's okay'?" Joey repeated suspiciously. "What's okay?"

"Everything," she lied. They didn't stop looking at her; she fumbled for excuses. "I'm just caught up in schoolwork- a little tired-" she hit upon it- "My parents are in Aruba for the next few days, and I guess I just miss them…"

Immediate sympathetic looks. "Téa, you never told us!" Yugi gently chided. "Are you okay? You're staying alone?" She gave a tiny nod. "If you ever need a place to stay, Téa, you know you can come stay with Grandpa and me. We have an extra room and you'd definitely be welcome."

She was touched by the gesture, even if she knew she could never accept it. "Thanks, Yugi," she said, smiling wanly. "That's really sweet. I'll keep you in mind, but I'm okay."

"Yeah," Joey said, shrugging. "Or you could come stay at my joint. I could use company anyways."

"Or mine," Tristan chimed in. "You know my mom loves you."

"Thanks, guys," she said, finding herself getting really choked up. "You're all the best-" Somehow, as her gaze traveled from Yugi's blushing face to Joey's grinning one, her eyes got pulled to a spot in between them. Sitting a little farther away was Ryou Bakura. The pale boy was sitting sideways in his seat, regarding her thoughtfully. His face looked a little puzzled, like something he didn't quite understand was bothering him. She tilted her head and gave him a half-smile, but he didn't react. He just stared blankly ahead, seeming to stare through her.

Confused, she swept the room with her eyes, wondering if she was missing something. Then she saw him.

This time, there could be no doubt that Seto Kaiba was staring at her. At least he wasn't glaring this time. Well, not really. His eyes were a little narrowed and his face was a little twisted, but he looked more interested than angry. She quickly glanced away; for some reason, he was making her nervous.

The teacher started class then; an excruciatingly boring history lesson followed by an equally dull trigonometry course. Normally, Téa would have been slightly irritated, and tried to keep Joey and Tristan from slipping into comas, but this time she was grateful and found herself dozing right along with them. The only real disruption she had was when they had to shuffle from one room to the other. While she'd picked up a little information in history class, she abandoned all pretenses in trig and let herself fall asleep in class, something she'd never done.

The clatter of Yugi spilling his pencil case jerked her out of her sleep. Trig was over. Drowsily, she stretched; she had nothing to clean up as she hadn't bothered to take anything out. Yugi scooped up his pencils quickly and hurried out the door, shouting, "Joey! Tristan!" The two boys were always the first one to leave trigonometry, as they had lunch next.

In fact, most everyone dashed out of the classroom, and that included the teacher (who was probably really just dying for a cigarette break). She was the only one left; her and Seto Kaiba. He pointedly took his time in between classes, signifying that the great Seto Kaiba did not let his life be dictated by the bell.

She hadn't intended to bring this up with him, but they were alone in the classroom and she figured it couldn't do much harm. Before the logical part of her brain could stop her, she brazenly blurted, "This time, Kaiba, you were definitely staring at me."

He didn't even bother to look at her as he rose from his seat. "Back in history? You look like hell, Gardner. I think everyone was staring at you at one point or the other."

With that, he walked calmly out of the classroom, leaving her standing alone and gaping at the door. Gathering her senses, she grabbed her backpack, slightly paranoid and irritated, and stomped out.

Yugi and Tristan were waiting for her in the hall, sighing at Joey. The blonde had assumed a fighting pose, one fist shaking after the fast-receding back of Seto Kaiba. "Yeah, well, the same goes for you, moneybags!" he shouted, spit flying from his mouth in anger. "That jerk…" he muttered, turning back to his friends.

"Hey, guys," Téa said, choosing to ignore Joey's outburst. A warm glow had formed in her stomach. "You didn't have to wait for me." They usually just met up in the cafeteria, where Téa and Yugi practiced not being grossed out by the massive amounts of food Joey and Tristan were capable of consuming.

"I know," Joey said, finally turning away from Kaiba and winking at her. "But we wanted to." He loped one arm around Téa's neck and gave Tristan a head-noogie with the other. "Ready to go to lunch?"

"And we promised each other we'd make you eat something," Yugi said shyly, sidling up. "You're too skinny, Téa."

For the second or third time that day, she blushed. "Eh-heh…" she murmured, trying not to acknowledge the comment.

"Sooo, we're buying out the cafeteria, hitting the vending machines, and getting double desserts!" Tristan announced, punching his fist in the air. Téa giggled.

Her friends were great. They were always the ones she could trust on, no matter how weird everyone else in the school was acting. But an odd thing happened… as they were walking down the hallway, Joey and Tristan vowing that they were each the hot-dog eating champ, she happened to glance over at Yugi. His eyes were glazed over and thoughtful, and for a split second, something bright and crimson flashed across them. She shuddered, but luckily Joey (who still had an arm draped over her shoulder) didn't notice.

Since when had the spirit scared her? She'd always liked Yugi's other half. She'd always felt safe around Yami.

_'I'm just being paranoid_', she sternly scolded herself. She shot a peek at Yugi, he seemed normal again. '_Normal-__ that's not the right word. That's horrible._'

Still, something funny was turning around in her stomach that didn't abide when they reached the cafeteria. Kaiba had somehow beat them down there by an alternate route, and was huddled in a familiar corner of the cafeteria, typing away at his laptop with an intensity that Téa could only compare to Yugi in a duel. But he'd always had a knack for sensing when a mutt entered the room, and he glanced up when Joey barged through the door, half-dragging Téa in an effort to beat Tristan to the lunch line. He fixed Joey with a long, harsh Death Glare that only Téa noticed. Finally, Kaiba's eyes shifted from Joey to the hapless girl the blonde still had an arm slung casually around. The cerulean eyes opened a fraction of an inch in surprise, then narrowed again to fix Téa with a scathing look. She rolled her eyes to the ceiling, feeling suddenly secure surrounded by her friends. She didn't know what Kaiba's problem was, but she wasn't going to let it intimidate her.


	3. Friends 'Till Death

Nightmare

x

Notes: Good grief, whatever happened to trusting the authoress? :P I've got a motive and explanation for everything, really I do. Anyway, I'll quickly answer two commonly asked questions:

Has anyone gotten it? –Well, I'm not going to say that, because I know there are people who will actually go back and check the reviews. :P Sorry… just wait a week or so for my next update.

Can you give us more hints? -::smirks:: I'm dropping hints like bombs, you're just not picking up on them. Everything will make sense when you find out who it is.

Kudos goes to Misura for correctly translating what Seto mumbled to Téa. The rest of you will find out in a couple chapters. All of you will find out who the stalker is next chapter (If anyone guesses who it is, I'll acknowledge them too, if that's okay with everyone.)

(Reuploaded version; WHY don't my paragraph breaks show up?)

x

x

x

Chapter 3

xXx

Hours later, as she let herself into the house (this time she'd had the key prepared in advance and she quickly sidled in), she wished she still had her brazen attitude from lunchtime. She could sure use comfort now.

The phone rang almost immediately. Swallowing hard, she was prepared not to answer it until it occurred to her that it could be her parents, calling from Aruba. She dived across the kitchen and had gotten out half of her greeting before it occurred to her that she could just let the machine get it, to be sure.

"Hello?"

"_Hello, my dear_," the voice at the other end purred.

She screamed and hung up, pushing the phone hard into the receiver. Just as quickly, she snatched it back up and began dialing the police station, whose number she had spent a good while memorizing.

"Domino Police Station," the crisp voice answered. Téa was relieved that, instead of the woman who had dismissed her earlier, this was a different man.

"I'd like to speak to Sergeant Sacco," she said firmly, pushing her nervousness to the side. "He gave me permission to speak to him at any time using this number."

"May I have your name, please?" The voice was pleasant, and Téa heaved a sigh of relief.

"Téa Gardener."

"Hello, Miss Gardener. Sergeant Sacco is unavailable at this time to take your call. Shall I leave a message?"

She stared at the phone line in disbelief. "But…"

"Yes?"

"But he promised I could talk to him! My safety is at stake and it's your job and his to make sure I'm protected! _Please_ let me talk to him!"

"Miss Gardner, calm down. Would you like to leave a message?"

She bit the inside of her cheek. "Maybe you can help me? I don't know if he told you, but there's someone stalking me and he just called-"

The officer's voice abruptly took on a sharp tinge. "I'm afraid I cannot help you. Would you like to leave a message?"

She couldn't _believe_ this. He wasn't even _acknowledging _that she had a problem.

"No. I'd _like_ you to get off your damned lazy rear and _help me_," she snapped. "What'll you do if I _die_? What'll you do if the stalker _kills_ me? What sort of _message_ are you going to be able to take then? Where is Sergeant Sacco?? I need to talk to him _now_, and I will, if I have to march down to the police station and force myself in!"

"Miss Gardner." The man's voice had taken on a decidedly icy tone. "I have to take that as a threat. If you don't stop this behavior now, you face the distinct possibility of being arrested."

_Unreal_. "Well, maybe I'd be better off arrested," she snapped, bile rising in her throat. "Maybe I'd be safer in one of your damned cells! But then again, considering your horrid lack of _real_ security, _maybe not-_"

He hung up on her. She stared at the phone a while, then screamed and threw it on the floor. It bounced once, then lay there prone. Losing her temper completely, letting out all the built up emotions over the last few days, Téa screamed again and went to kick it.

The phone rang. She paused, foot hanging in midair. When it shrilly rang again a second time, she let out a strangled sob and bolted to the front door.

xXx

xXx

"Voila!" Joey crooned, as he slid two large sections of the puzzle together. Serenity laughed and jokingly clapped her hands together.

"Bravo, Joey," she teased. She bent over the puzzle, her red hair falling in a silken sheet. "You've completed the edge of the Red Eyes Black Dragon," she said in her soft voice, looking up and smiling at her older brother. "Good job! I think these pieces over here are its wings. Do you suppose they go there?" She pointed to the incomplete area next to where Joey had assembled the head.

"Probably," Joey said eagerly, sliding the puzzle pieces over and trying to move one around. "I've- got one!"

"Then this one goes here!" Serenity excitedly placed her piece next to his. When they fell together in an interlocking position, the two siblings looked up and grinned at each other.

"Joey," Serenity began softly, blushing. "I've _really_ enjoyed hanging out with you after school."

"That goes double for me, sis," Joey said, beginning to tear up. The sound of the doorbell gave him an excuse to turn his head hastily. He was far from taking 'quality time' with his younger sister for granted.

He'd barely left the living room when the doorbell rang again, then again. He rolled his eyes. "If that's Tristan, I'm gonna muss him up…" he muttered threateningly, undoing the single bolt and pushing the door carelessly open.

Téa launched herself at him, already halfway through a good sob. "I'm sorry," she sniffled, head buried in his shirt.

Joey stared at the top of her head in astonishment. He gingerly lifted one hand to pat her hair. "Uh, it'll be all right," he said awkwardly.

She rubbed her tear-streaked face against the T-shirt he'd changed into. "I'm so sorry," she said again.

"What? What are you sorry about?" Confusion had given way to worry. He glanced over her head and saw a group of guys walking past. They were all teenagers decked out in leather jackets and greasy hairdos. One of the guys eyed Téa's long legs appreciatively; another whistled. Some of them shot Joey the thumbs-up; some shouted rather inappropriate things at what they assumed to be the couple in the doorway. The apartment Joey and his dad rented was in a rather unsavory neighborhood.

Joey stiffened with anger; Téa's sobs picked up. "Come in," he said, guiding her inside. Right before he shut the door, he looked back out at the gang and flicked them off. He slammed the door as their rude comments picked up.

"I'm sorry," Téa said a third time, standing in the middle of his dingy hallway.

"Téa, what are you sorry about?" he asked, putting a hand on her shoulder and leading her back into the living room, where he and Serenity had been working on the puzzle.

"For… troubling you," she said unhappily, wiping her eyes.

"Téa, something is wrong. Tell me what. It's no trouble, you _know_ that. It's never any trouble when it comes to my friends. Is someone doing something to you?" He angrily cracked his knuckles.

"Well… yes…" her voice trailed off as they entered the living room.

"Joey, who was at the- Hey! Téa?"

"Hello, Serenity," Téa said, valiantly trying to be brave. Serenity jumped up from the couch and rushed over to give Téa a hug.

"Téa, are you okay? You seem upset."

_That was the understatement of the century_, Téa thought wearily as she allowed the Wheelers to guide her to a seat between them. Once on the couch, she gratefully sank way back into the shabby pillows.

Twenty minutes later, Joey's voice broke the silence that had befallen the apartment, save Téa's broken voice relating her tale. "_WHAT_??"

"Oh, no, Téa," Serenity said, at a loss for words. "That's unbelievable. I'm so sorry." She reached over and took up the older girl's hands in her own. Téa's fingers were cold to the touch.

"Téa, _why didn't you tell us_?" Joey asked, jumping off the couch and beginning to pace. "We're your friends! Man! We could have _helped_ you!"

"I didn't want to bother anyone," Téa admitted in a quivery voice.

"We gotta call Yugi," Joey said, reaching for the phone. "He'll be so ticked…"

"No!" she practically shouted, and he snatched his hand away as if the phone were on fire. "No," Téa repeated more quietly, blushing. "I especially didn't want him to know."

"But _why_?" Joey asked, staring at her as if she were from another planet. "Listen, Téa, if I round up Yugi and Tristan and maybe some of the other guys, we can follow you everywhere and maybe catch this creep." He pounded his fist in his open hand for emphasis.

"Sergeant Sacco- that is, when the police were still _talking_ to me," she said bitterly, "suggested that this creepy stalker might have fixed on me because of my friendship with Yugi. I _can't_ tell him that- it'd tear him to pieces."

"No way," Joey said, wide-eyed, sinking into the couch. Serenity and Téa watched him anxiously as he mulled over this for a few minutes. "No way," he finally repeated. "God, Téa. Even when some psycho's after you, you still want to protect your friends. I still think you should tell someone."

"Joey, I can't," she said, close to tears again. "I've already caused enough trouble with you. I don't want anyone else worrying about me. There's nothing anyone can do, anyway."

"Aw, man," Joey muttered, mostly to himself. "Are you _sure_, Téa? At the very least, we could keep an eye out for you."

"No," she choked. "I can't put anyone else out. It just wouldn't feel right! Besides…"

"Besides what?" Serenity asked quietly.

Téa hesitated. She looked the younger girl directly in the eyes and felt a pang of guilt. "I've already put you two in danger!" she burst. "I can't do that to anyone else!" With that, she collapsed into a pile, clenching her jaw against the sobs wracking her body.

Joey stared, aghast, while Serenity gently dragged a blanket to cover Téa's body. "I get it now, Joey," she murmured as she tried to reassure Téa. "She's not worried about inconveniencing anyone. She's worried that, if the stalker finds out she told anyone else about him, he'll go after them. Like us. She's afraid that she just put our lives on the line."

"And I don't want to do that to anyone else!" Téa's voice came, muffled from under the blanket. "I'm already being so selfish."

"Not selfish!" Joey tried to tell her again, but she simply shrugged.

"Joey," Serenity spoke up. "Téa said she was staying home alone, right?"

Joey looked like he'd been struck across the face. Or had a pizza stolen from him. "Oh, yeah! Téa, let me tell you this: No matter how much you protest, you're _not_ going to go back to that house. That's final. No _way_ I'm letting you stay unprotected."

"But-" Téa started, but Serenity interrupted her.

"Téa, Joey- why doesn't Téa stay here tonight? That way, you don't have to go to anyone else, but Téa won't be alone. And who knows- maybe the stalker won't find you. Maybe he doesn't already know you're here."

"Fat chance of that," Téa muttered, but Joey wasn't listening.

"Yeah! That'll work, Téa! What do you say?" She started to respond, but he plowed on. "Never mind, you don't have a choice. You're sleeping here tonight, so I suggest you make yourself comfortable. You can have my room if you want, I'll take the couch."

Téa poked her head up under the nest of blankets Serenity had piled upon her. Her eyes were big and sorrowful under her mussed-up brown hair. "Joey…"

"No 'ifs', 'ands', or 'buts'," Joey announced proudly, crossing his arms. "That's final."

She hesitated. "Thanks, Joey," she murmured, diving back under the blankets. "But I'll take the couch." Sensing Joey about to say something, she added, "Trust me- I've seen your room."

Serenity burst out laughing, and after a while Téa joined her. "It _is_ quite a pigsty," Serenity teased her older brother.

"Hmm," Joey grumbled mockingly.

As their giggles died away, Serenity spoke up determinedly. "Joey? I want to stay here tonight too. I bet Mom would let me."

Joey looked thoughtful, and on the verge of happiness, but Téa looked upset for some reason. "Serenity…" she started, gnawing on her bottom lip and shooting Joey an anxious look. "It's just… I'd be willing to bet that the stalker knows I'm here. And I'm already making you a target by staying the night. If Serenity stayed, and… and…" Her throat was closing up. "If something happened to her while we slept, I'd never forgive myself!"

xXx

xXx

Téa ended up staying three nights at the Wheelers. During this time, she tried to call the police twice. Twice, she was given a brush-off. She visited her home three times, to take necessary supplies and to check for messages from her parents. There were none. And every time she tried to call their cellphone, she got a 'no reception' signal.

The first night was uneventful. The second night, she was scared out of her wits.

The third night…

xXx

xXx

Night 1:

Although Téa's proclamation struck Joey speechless for a good thirty seconds, Serenity refused to budge. She called her mother and elicited permission to spend the night, provided she did her homework right away and called if there was an emergency.

Luckily, there weren't any emergencies, so Serenity didn't have to contact her mother. She fulfilled the other end of the bargain right away, serenely doing her homework while Téa and Joey argued about various topics, involving but not limited to _who_ the stalker could be, _why_ she couldn't tell anyone, _what_ would happen to Serenity, _where_ they could sleep for the night, and _what_ Joey could do.

Eventually, a compromise was reached- meaning that Téa got her way on all points. Joey felt that he had achieved a small victory, at least, in making Téa take a long, relaxing shower while he set up their sleeping quarters. He ended up dragging all the sleeping bags and blankets and mattresses in the house into the living room after shoving all other furniture out of the way.

The three of them stayed up all night, all wearing various versions of Joey's pajamas (since Serenity and Téa didn't have their own). They huddled in the center of the mattress pile, clutching hands and jumping every time the house squeaked or a hoodlum outside smashed a beer bottle.

The next day at school, Téa looked better. She was cleaner, at least, and despite her lack of sleep she looked more animated. She felt better, too. She pulled herself together enough to not complain when the teacher assigned an essay, rough drafts due in just two days. Well… the truth is, Téa was never the complainer. What she _did _do, however, was elbow Joey in the side when he and Tristan started to whine loudly.

xXx

xXx

Night 2:

Téa and Joey sat across from each other on the mattress fort that was still in his living room. A bag of potato chips sat prominently between them- somehow, things felt slightly more awkward without Serenity here. Serenity had visited them briefly after school, but her mother didn't want her staying too long since she had just spent the night. Serenity had promised, however, to work on her to extract permission to stay the next night. Téa had protested briefly, but now was glad she had given in to Serenity. Simply put, she just wasn't used to staying overnight at her best male friend's house.

At least she was in her own clothing. "By the way, thanks again," she said softly, breaking the silence. Joey looked quizzically up.

"For escorting me home," she clarified. "So I could grab my clothes and other stuff."

"Hey, no problem," Joey responded, scratching his neck.

"And while I'm thanking you," she continued, looking down, "Thanks for all this. For watching out for me. For letting me stay here."

"Téa," Joey said, sounding a mixture of fond and exasperated. "You've gotta stop thanking me. It's the least I can do. You _know_ that."

She bit her lip. "You don't _have_ to," she said.

"But I _want _to. Get it?" He grinned at her, then greedily stuck his hand in the bag of chips. "Mmmm, grease…" he said, licking his fingers.

Téa laughed. "Gross," she said, pretending to shy away from Joey. "Keep that zit factory away from me!"

"Hey," he said, sounding injured. "Look at this skin. Do you see one pimple on there?" He leaned close up to her, pointing at his forehead and grinning evilly.

She giggled again, putting a hand to his head. "Back off, buddy, or-"

There was a terrific _thump!_, and both of them froze. Téa had leaned back, bracing herself on her hand, and that arm started to wobble frantically. She swallowed over the hard lump in her throat. "What was that?" she whispered.

Joey looked uncertain. "Did it come from the door or the closet?" he wondered aloud, standing up. A chip crunched under his foot, but he didn't pay attention.

_Thump_!

Téa's arm gave out entirely and she fell against her elbow. She quickly rose to a crouching position, on her knees. Joey took a few tentative steps for the back door.

_Thump! Thump! ThumpthumpthumpCRASH!_

Téa's jaw shot down on her tongue and she shrieked in pain. Joey leapt into the hallway. "It was the backdoor," he called back to her, sounding panicked. "Someone shoved it inward!"

"You bastard!"

Téa crammed her hands against her mouth at this new voice.

"You bastard…" the voice continued. "Forgot m'keys… couldn't let your old man in…"

"Pop," Joey said, his voice now tinged with fury. "What are you doing home?"

"Forgot m'keys," the voice slurred. "Had to come in the hard way."

"You could have rung the doorbell!" Joey's voice rose. Téa slowly removed her hands from her mouth, eyes deer-wide.

"'S okay, son," the man repeated. "Just gonna… just gonna… gonna go to sleep."

"All right," Joey said, voice full of exasperation. Téa drew back as a shadow appeared in the doorway.

"And who's this?" the voice asked. She slowly looked up to see a great, hulking man filling the frame. He had dirty red-blonde hair falling in greasy strands past his shoulders, and was dressed in a torn black shirt and loose blue-jeans. His eyes were slightly unfocused and Téa suddenly realized that he was drunk. "Sorry, son," he slurred, "didn't realize you had company."

"Uh, oh yeah," Joey said, his face appearing over his father's shoulder. "Come on, dad, I'll show you to your room."

"Pretty girl you've got there," he said as his son practically shoved him across the room, to a door on the other side. "Pretty girl. Lucky boy. You treat her nice, you hear? Otherwise you'll end up like… like your mom and me…"

"That's not going to be an issue," Joey's strangled voice said before he and his father disappeared into the bedroom. Not sixty seconds later, he reappeared, his face bright red.

"Sorry, Téa," he muttered as he sank back down on the pile of blankets, trying to keep his distance. He looked at the bag of chips, plucked one out, and stared at it a moment before chomping down on it. "Didn't expect him to come in."

"After the initial shock, I was fine," Téa lied. Her heart was still pounding. "I've never met your dad before."

Joey snorted. "He's not around much. Usually out drinking."

She shrugged, feeling awkward. "He was very… moody," she blurted without meaning to.

"Yeah…" Joey absently took another handful of chips. "He has these giant mood swings. Sometimes he'll be in a full-blown tantrum, swearing at me, pounding on the walls, stuff like that. But then he'll be like he just was- trying to give me advice, act all fatherly." He stared down. "He doesn't understand that I've learned to survive without a father."

Something in her chest ached. "He seemed to care about you," she said, searching for something nice to say. That was the first thing she could pull up, but the funny thing was that it was true. She steeled herself to ask the next, inevitable question: "He never…"

"Hits me?" Joey finished. "Just once, when I was like six. When he and my mom were still married. Boy, did she pitch a fit. He hasn't laid a finger on me since." He squeezed his eyes shut. "When he hit me… and she got so mad… I think that was what did their marriage in."

Téa's eyes opened wide. "You can't blame yourself," she told him, reaching across to squeeze his hand.

Joey shrugged. "Yeah. I guess. Just like you can't blame yourself for being a stalker victim."

Their eyes suddenly met, and a jolt shot through Téa's body. His words were so true. How did Joey, who they all teased about being thick-headed, pick up on something like that? She did blame herself, to a certain extent. Some small insecurity, saying that there must be something wrong with her to attract a psycho like her stalker was.

"Well," she said, clutching the blankets and smiling suddenly. "I think we've had enough for tonight. And I've been keeping you up."

"Oh, it's no big deal," Joey said, snatching up the potato chips and pouring the remaining crumbs into his mouth. "I'm used to staying up late, playing video games with Tristan." She snorted, and he grinned, crumpling up the bag and tossing it carelessly in the direction of the kitchen. "I'll get that later. Want me to shut off the lights?"

"Yeah," she said, preparing to build herself a cocoon and grabbing a pillow. "Thanks."

He stood up and crossed the room, stopping in front of the light switch plate. She lifted her head slightly to see him staring, neck craned upward, at a lone light switch. "Something wrong?"

"Nah," he said, decisively flicking the switch upward. "This switch turns on the automatic light sensors outside. I forgot we had those. If anyone comes too close to the door, the lights detect them and turn on." She was silent, but a smile played onto her lips. Another barrier in between her and the stalker.

Joey finally turned off the living room lights and stumbled over to the mattresses, falling asleep a few minutes before she did and forcing Téa to listen to his unbearably loud snoring before she finally dozed off herself. For the first night in weeks, she didn't have a single dream- at least, none that she could remember when she woke up the next morning.

xXx

xXx

Night 3:

It rained as Téa, Joey, and Serenity dashed to the apartment. Serenity had, by many wide-eyed looks and hopeful 'pleeeeease's, gotten permission to spend the night once again.

"The automatic lights didn't go on?" Téa questioned as they entered the front door. Joey stopped, backtracked, and looked up.

"They're broken," he said, rolling his eyes. "Stupid neighborhood. I bet you anything one of those kids put a rock or a baseball or something through the bulbs. It's okay, though. They couldn't have broken the bulbs in the backyard; they can't get in. It's surrounded by a chainlink fence."

'_Does that mean the stalker won't be able to get there, either_?' Téa wondered. Aloud, she asked, "What's on the other side of the fence?"

Joey flushed a little. "A dump, junkyard, landfill. Whatever you want to call it."

"Oh." She wasn't quite ready to rule out the stalker getting into the backyard yet, but she kept that to herself. Besides, the lights there worked. The lights out front didn't, but who was dumb enough to walk up to the front door when they went to such lengths to keep their identity hidden? Still, she felt a sudden, strong sense of trepidation. "Joey?" she asked, brushing her wet hair out of her eyes. "Can we lock all the windows and doors?"

"They've been locked since you started staying here," Joey said, studying her carefully.

"Can we double-check?" she asked, biting her lip. Serenity shivered a little, like she was cold.

"Yeah…" Joey said, absently scratching his elbow. "I'll double-check. And triple-check, if it makes you feel any better."

She let out a forced laugh. "Thanks."

They killed the day by doing their homework while old movies played on TV. Téa, who had somehow completed her essay for English, and refused to tell Joey how, tried to help him with his. He'd been around her ever since the darned thing was assigned! When had she had time to work on it? He was betting on study hall, but she must have typed like a maniac. Hmp. Overachiever. It was kind of amazing, though- despite everything she was going through, school came first. Sort of like Kaiba with his company.

When he accidentally growled out loud, Téa of course asked him what was going on, and he had to tell her. She rolled her eyes, but Serenity dropped her calculator on the floor, shortly followed by her entire math book. She retrieved it, face bright red.

"What?" Joey asked suspiciously.

"What what?" Serenity asked innocently, clearing her throat.

"When I said 'Kaiba', you blushed. What do you know about Seto Kaiba?"

"Seto Kaiba?" she asked, testing the name. "Absolutely nothing. I've hardly ever seen _Seto_ Kaiba."

Joey rolled his eyes. "Kaiba's a jerk," he grumbled.

Téa suddenly recalled how he'd been glaring at Joey on Monday. She gnawed on the end of her pencil, thinking about it a moment. "Not worth it," she muttered.

"What's not worth it?" Joey asked, eagerly shoving his book aside.

Téa mock-glared at Joey and retrieved the tattered copy of _Othello_. "Not worth getting distracted while you're supposed to be defining Othello's personality! Let's talk about _character_, Joey. Why is Othello who he is?"

"You lost me," Joey said blankly. "Can't we just go back to bashing Kaiba?"

Across the room, Serenity swallowed nervously. Luckily, neither of them saw her. "We weren't bashing Kaiba," Téa informed him. "You were calling him a workaholic, and a jerk, but it didn't progress to bashing. And it won't, either."

"Why not, when it's so much fun?" Joey asked, staring at the ceiling. "And so easy, too."

"Because it's mean." Téa shook _Othello _in front of his face. "Concentrate, Joey."

"Mean?" Joey asked incredulously. "If anyone has it coming to him, it's Seto Kaiba!"

"That's not true," Téa scolded. "When you look at a person, you can't just look at the bad. You have to look at the good, too. Like Othello."

"What good does _he_ have?" Joey snorted.

"Well, he's an honest person. Way too honest, which turned out to be his downfall. Very trusting too. And he's a brilliant military official, obviously, or the Duke never would have promoted him."

Joey was staring at her, mouth slightly open. She hit him over the head with the book. "Othello, Joey! We're not still talking about Seto Kaiba, we've moved onto Othello!"

"That's just because you can't find anything good about Kaiba," Joey challenged, rubbing his head and grinning a little. She rolled her eyes.

"You're not going to distract me, Joey Wheeler-"

"He's self-centered," Joey started. "And egotistical. And a rude, selfish, spoiled brat. He's insulting. He's too stubborn. He's too single-minded."

Téa heaved a sigh. "Okay, fine, I'll play your game. Seto Kaiba is also a highly intelligent individual. He's really determined. He reads a lot and designs technology way beyond our level. He's composed and calm and alert. Most important, he cares a _lot_ for Mokuba." Serenity dropped her calculator again. Joey looked over, but Téa, completely embarrassed at defending Kaiba, plowed through her explanation. "He goes to any and all lengths to protect his little brother! And he's taken on the role of big brother and surrogate father, accepting all the responsibilities of caring for another person! And he's obviously done a great job, because look how well Mokuba turned out!"

"I'll make some popcorn," Serenity announced, scurrying into the kitchen before they could see her bright red face.

"He's a stuck-up jerk," Joey said bluntly. "Come on, Téa. You've seen how he treats Yugi. And how he acts around me."

"You know what?" Téa said thoughtfully. "I think it's just because he's never had any friends or companions his own age, so he doesn't know how to act around them." When Joey rolled his eyes disbelievingly, she scowled at him. "Come on, Joey! You called _him_ single-minded, but you're acting no better! You have to look past the bad and see that Seto Kaiba is a decent human being, just like the rest of us!"

A clap of lightning and a roll of thunder greeted her words. Joey snorted with laughter. "All right, Téa, it's a sign," he said, grinning at her. She rolled her eyes, but at least any tension between them was gone. "Besides…" he mumbled under his breath. "I'd be surprised if Kaiba was even _human_…"

"Joey!" she laughed, and suddenly the room took on a separate, golden glow. She looked around for the source and froze.

The outer lights had just snapped on.

xXx

xXx

_He cursed. The damned apartments had automatic lighting! How could he have forgotten about something like that? It hadn't gone on the night before, for the drunken father. Perhaps Téa and her little friend were conspiring against him. The fools._

_He backed away quickly; he didn't think they'd seen him. He moved into the shadows. The violent storm suited his weather perfectly. And as for the lights… he could take care of those._

xXx

xXx

"I'm going out," Joey said determinedly, standing up. Just as abruptly, he was yanked back down onto the couch.

"You're not going out there!" Téa started to yell, when the room was plunged into darkness. The sounds of the microwave stopped abruptly, and the TV shut off. Téa shrieked and clutched for Joey, finding his shirt in the darkness.

"Joey!" Serenity's voice called fearfully from the kitchen.

"The power's out!" he shouted. Téa gave a short whimper and squeezed his shirt harder. Outside, lighting flashed, lighting up the backyard. It was empty. "There are flashlights in the kitchen!" Joey continued. "In the upper right cupboard. Serenity, can you grab them? And hurry!"

"Okay," she called.

Joey stood up, gently disengaging Téa's fingers from his shirt. "Man, I should have grabbed a baseball bat or something," he muttered.

"Urrgh…" Téa said, grinding her hands into her eye sockets. When she heard Joey suck in a breath, she glanced up. But it wasn't what he saw so much as what they heard.

"That creaking," Joey whispered. "That's the back door opening."

"Oh no," she whimpered. "I thought it was locked?"

"My dad must have broken the lock last night," he said in a low voice. She couldn't be sure, but she thought his voice sounded petrified. "And before you ask- it's not him. He's definitely not going to be home tonight. I don't think he's even in town."

"Oh help us oh help us…"

A burst of lightning again, bright as day. It flashed behind the _two_ figures in the doorway, illuminating their menacing silhouettes and making Téa's heart stop.

From the kitchen, Serenity shrieked as loud as she could.

xXx

x

x

x

Notes: Yes, I deliberately wrote until I got to that cliffhanger. It's because I wanted a while to gauge people's reactions. Any guesses as to what's going on? Who the people are? What happened in the kitchen? Luckily for you (I think), most questions will be answered in the next chapter. From then on, it's a struggle to stay alive. And unmolested. (I didn't just say that, did I? Sorry, Téa!)

I realized, as I was writing this, I'm sort of hinting at JoeyTéa. It's _not_ intended, but I've always pictured them as being really close. (Of course they are, but you know what I mean)


	4. Openly Terrified

Nightmare

x

Notes: I use single quotation marks for dialogue in flashbacks. My stupid paragraph breaks last chapter were because my old ones didn't show up the first time I uploaded them. Desperate to fix it before anyone read the chapter and became confused, I went with that weird 'title-in-brackets'. Hopefully the ones here will be less annoying.

::drumroll:: Yes, the stalker shall finally be revealed. Be afraid, be very afraid…

x

x

Chapter 4

x

Téa didn't remember when she started to scream, but after a while she became aware that her voice was joining in the chords from Serenity, still in the kitchen. Joey left her side and lunged at the first figure in the doorway.

"Wait, Joey!"

The rain-drenched man lifted a hand and Joey stopped in his tracks. "_YUGI_?" he cried incredulously. "What are you _DOING_ here? You scared us to _DEATH_!"

"I'm sorry," Yugi said hastily. Téa's screams slowly wound down. "I'm so sorry. But Ishizu and I saw the door, and she could tell it was unlocked, and we figured we'd better get inside before he found a way to."

" 'He'?" Joey repeated, and then Serenity came charging from the kitchen. The small red blur flew directly to Joey and fastened herself to him.

"Oh, Joey," she sobbed into his shirt. "I was looking in the cabinets and I couldn't find the flashlights and then the lightning flashed and out the window I saw _him_! The lightning lit up his face for a second and he grinned _so_ evilly and he terrified me and I know it's him who's after Téa!"

"Who is it?" Téa and Joey demanded at once. Yugi bit his lip.

"The blonde boy from the blimp," she cried, her words muffled as she hugged Joey's shirt harder. "It was the blonde boy from the blimp."

The world started to swirl around Téa. Suddenly, Ishizu was by her side, clasping her shoulder firmly. On her other side was Yugi- no, it was the Other; it was Yami who had come in with Ishizu.

"Yes," Ishizu said sadly. "It's my brother. Marik is the one stalking you, Téa. That is why I am here. I want to help. I'm so sorry he's caused you so much trouble."

x

x

"You look _dead_," Shiara said bluntly.

There was no way to tell her friend how much she disliked the choice of words. Téa simply nodded tiredly and dropped her backpack on the floor.

"We're peer-editing the _Othello_ essays today," Shiara said, taking a desk next to her and dragging it closer. "Mine stinks. I need help. Although, I'm not sure how much of it I'm going to get from you…" she eyed her friend critically.

Téa wasn't listening. Last night had been pure torture. Yami confessed that he had kept a close eye on her, and broke into the police station (he used softer words, like 'borrowed your file without telling the guard at the front desk') and figured out that someone was stalking her. At a loss of what to do, he'd gone to Ishizu- the Ishtar family had long since returned to Domino and retaken their old positions, Ishizu in her job at the museum. He'd forced her to reaccept the Millennium Necklace, too, not that she needed it. She'd noticed her brother's odd behavior lately and Yami's story was all she needed to fit the last piece in the puzzle. From the trash can in the museum basement, they picked out shredded drawings of a bleeding heart. They exactly matched the photocopies that Yami had illegally made.

The two of them waited for Marik to come home. When he never did, they decided to assume the worst and headed towards Téa's house. Halfway there, Ishizu made them turn around, and they ended up in the Wheeler's backyard just as the storm started. They entered through the junkyard, climbing over heaps of trash until they found the slit in the chainlink fence that Marik had been using, apparently made by the Millennium Rod.

'That's why the police have been snubbing you, and your parents left for Aruba,' Ishizu had informed her. 'Marik is using the Rod to control their minds.'

Téa's eyes widened to the size of saucers. 'What am I supposed to do now?' she'd wailed. 'How can I protect myself against someone who can turn everyone else against me? Can't he even control _my_ body then?'

'He could if he wanted to. Which means that he doesn't want to, for whatever reason, and you're safe.'

'Hardly,' Téa snorted, but under her breath.

'Hey,' Joey spoke up. 'Don't forget, Marik can't control _everyone_. He can't control me.'

'Or me,' Yami added.

'I don't know if he can control me,' Ishizu had said, looking tired. 'I hope I never have to find out. I don't know if I'm stronger than he is.'

With these ominous words, a heavy silence had befallen the room. They hadn't accomplished much after that. A few minutes of discussion, entailing what Téa would do the next day, had been concluded when Serenity boldly dragged Yami into the next room. Joey and Téa stared blankly at each other while Ishizu looked immensely guilty. Téa had just brought herself to say 'It's not your fault your little brother is a psycho bent on making my life hell,' when Yami- no, it was Yugi now- and Serenity reentered the room.

Yugi and Serenity were both blushing; Serenity for her forthrightness and Yugi for what he had to say next. 'Téa', he'd poured out in a rush. 'I don't want you to think I'm trying to boss you around or anything, but can you do me and yourself a favor? Go where Serenity tells you tomorrow?'

'Fine,' she said flatly, not having the energy to argue. Yugi looked taken aback and relieved at her quick acquiescence.

Then… not much had happened. Yugi and Ishizu had actually stayed at the Wheelers. The five of them had shared various pillows, sleeping bags, mattresses, and couches. And Ishizu had opted for her own clothing rather than borrowing Joey's pajamas, as all of them had done at one point or another.

Then Téa trooped off to school, surrounded by her 'bodyguards'. They dropped Serenity off at the junior high, Ishizu peeled off to head to her job at the museum, and Joey, Yugi, and Téa had entered what would probably be the worst day of their school careers. Téa was so tired she was about to collapse. Yugi had ugly circles under his eyes, but appeared cheerful at first glance. Joey was exhausted, and that made him grumpy and sullen, and even now he was getting into a fight with Tristan, the peer-editing partner he'd been assigned at the beginning of the year. Téa, of course, had ended up with Shiara. Yugi had been assigned a quietly intelligent girl who he claimed helped him a lot with the essays. Ryou Bakura was the sympathy target of half the class, for he'd wound up as Seto Kaiba's partner. (The other half were drooling girls who bemoaned that they couldn't end up with either one of the silent, but gorgeous, boys.)

"Is anyone absent today?" Mrs Douglass, the English teacher, asked from the front of the room, surveying the class. No one answered. Finally Yugi's partner shook her head no.

"And we have an even number of people?" she asked. Once again, no one answered- they were too busy picking at their nails or falling asleep- but Mrs Douglass took a head count and figured out the answer for herself.

"Well, we have a new student joining us today, so we'll have to have a threesome. He hasn't started an essay, of course, but he can listen in on your conversations. Let's see… a group he'd benefit from…" She raised her eyebrows at Joey and Tristan. Joey snorted and buried his head in his arms, and Tristan grinned goofily and waved. Used to their antics, Mrs Douglass simply lifted her eyes upwards and continued surveying the room. "All right, Yugi and Br- Yugi and…" her voice trailed away, and her face scrunched up. Her head swiveled mechanically to look at Téa. "Téa and Shiara, you will have our new student joining you, if that's all right."

"Yeah," Shiara muttered, brushing her curly black hair from her face. Téa didn't answer, but she suddenly got goosebumps up and down her arms.

"All right. You can all start on your peer-editing. I'll go to the office and get him." She exited the classroom, but as the door slowly swung closed the class could hear her conversation. "Oh- hello. You're all ready then? That's wonderful. Well, come on in. They're working on their essays right now. I've assigned you a group; you can listen in on their discussion. Class," she now addressed the whole room, pushing the door open. The new student followed her in. "This is Marik Ishtar, transferred here from private tutelage. Marik, welcome to Domino High. Good luck making it through the semester. There is your group. I suppose you'll be together for the rest of the year, so get comfortable."

_"No!_"

The entire class turned to stare at her, with the exception of Yugi, Joey, and Tristan. Tristan was staring at Marik, looking confused and vaguely worried. Yugi had shot halfway out of his seat- rather, Yami had taken over and begun to rise. Joey's whole body had tensed up, and a vein had popped out on his forehead. "Marik," he growled through his teeth.

"Is there a problem, Miss Gardner?" Mrs Douglass asked, looking irritated and worried. She scanned the room. "Mister Moto, please sit down. Mister Wheeler! What has gotten _into _you all? I expected more of this class, really."

Marik's eyes hadn't left Téa once. He wasn't wearing a school uniform; she bitterly thought that he must have brainwashed the principal into letting him appear in a too-small violet tanktop, tight leather pants, and far too much gold jewelry. Even through her fear, she scanned his persona quickly for the Millennium Rod. He didn't _seem_ to be holding it, but she suddenly realized that he had been using it on Mrs Douglass, to get himself assigned to Téa's group.

Suddenly, a grin appeared on Marik's face and he leered at her. It was all so surreal. This stalker wasn't supposed to be someone she'd known, someone who she'd thought was cured of darkness. And he definitely wasn't supposed to be here, in broad daylight, in her very own English classroom.

"How dare you!" A righteous voice boomed. Téa cringed; it was Yami. Who knew how this would end up!

x

x

Unlike his partner, now Marik, and most of the other students in the class, Seto hadn't diverted his attention to Moto. He was still eyeing Gardner. Téa looked remarkably pale, a curious reaction. Last he knew, they were all holding hands and singing carols as Marik's so-called 'darker half' was banished to the 'Shadow Realm'. Wouldn't such a peppy friendship-preaching freak be bouncing around, all happy that she had a brand-new friend?

Much as he hated to admit it, maybe Yugi knew something he didn't. Had something gone wrong with Marik once again? He wouldn't doubt it. Once a freak, always a freak.

Of course, that didn't apply to himself.

He finally turned to look at Yugi, just as the short boy launched himself across the room, lunging for Marik's neck. His eyes widened. It was so out-of-character for the normally reticent and meek duelist! Or… was this what they meant when they spoke of the 'Spirit'…

No. Foolish.

Speaking of foolish, Wheeler had just joined the fight. And of course, their little gang wasn't complete without Taylor, who obviously had no clue what was going on. He snorted.

The whole class had erupted. Some of the more immature ones were whistling and goading the four boys on; this was the most excitement in English class in months. Most of them, however, were screaming in horror, including the teacher. Mrs Douglass was hovering on the edge of the scuffle, obviously unwilling to risk her own neck and enter. He snorted again. He could probably break up the fight… but was it worth it?

"_Yami, stop!_" Téa finally shrieked. So, she'd found her voice. Seto leaned back in his chair, folding his arms. His partner, Ryou, stood up, and Seto shot him a cool look. "_Stop, Yami! Joey and Tristan! Don't!_"

A golden clash suddenly lit up the whole room. The class gasped. When the light cleared, Ryou was standing in front of Marik, and Moto, Wheeler, and Taylor had retreated to behind the first row of desks. "No more," someone said in a harsh, grating voice, and it took everyone a few seconds to figure out that this was Ryou. But something seemed off about him.

"_Mister Moto!_"

"Buuus-ted," someone whistled.

Mrs Douglass, face red, snatched Yugi up by the collar. He was blinking slowly, as if he just realized what had happened. Suddenly, his face flared up in a hot blush.

"Mister Wheeler and Mister Taylor, follow me," she snapped, dragging Yugi out the door. Ryou smirked ever so slightly; Marik smirked quite obviously. Téa slid down into her seat as the teacher and her last three hopes exited the room.

Ryou and Marik started circling her desk like sharks. She squeezed her eyes shut. Next to her, Shiara flipped her hair over her shoulder and asked, "So, what was the deal with _that_?"

"Yugi and Joey and Tristan obviously lost their tempers," Marik shrugged, stopping his scrutiny of Téa to survey the classroom. They looked stunned, and ready to argue. That wouldn't do…

A sudden murmur broke across the room as everyone started conversing about their essays, putting in more work than they'd ever done before. Looking satisfied, Marik gracefully hooked over a chair and weaseled in between the two girls. Téa promptly dragged her chair over to the other side of the desk.

"So, you're Marik Ishtar," Shiara said, leaning closer and propping her chin on her hand. Both of her partners ignored her. Téa was looking desperately around the room. The only other people in here who knew about Marik's past were the two boys in the back, Kaiba and Ryou Bakura. She didn't know if she could count on Ryou. That scene he'd just made… he seemed to have broken up the fight between Marik, Yugi, Joey and Tristan, but whose side had he been on? Did he even know Marik was coming back? And had it really been Ryou?

Her gentle classmate seemed to realize he was being stared at. He glanced up and gave her a soft wave. When he caught sight of Marik, his eyes widened slightly and he cocked his head in confusion. That answered some of her questions for her- it _hadn't_ really been Ryou who'd broken up the fight. It had been his other half. And while she didn't know what side the yami was on, she was pretty sure that Ryou himself would try to help her. Not that she could count on him. His yami took over too easily.

Their eye contact had drawn the attention of two people. Marik, who was now glowering at Ryou; and Seto Kaiba.

Something seemed funny about Kaiba. He was glancing around the room, like he couldn't believe what he was seeing. Then he glared furiously at Marik and shot Ryou a suspicious look.

Whatever he'd done to her classmates, it hadn't affected Seto Kaiba. Téa wasn't sure whether to get her hopes up or not. Kaiba would be a great friend to have at a time like this, but would he help her? He hated Marik… but did he hate Yugi more? Would he hold that against her? And why hadn't he been brainwashed too?

Something brushed against her foot. She stiffened. Across the room, she noticed Kaiba sitting upright and peering down at something, but she had bigger worries.

Whatever brushed against her foot was now gently kneading up her leg, reaching the bare skin on her leg. Upward it worked, massaging, pushing-

She looked up to find Marik two inches from her face. He was smirking seductively.

She shoved back her chair and bolted from the classroom. She hid out in the bathroom until the bell rang for next period.

x

x

"Téa! God, where've you been? You ran right out of English! You're lucky Mrs Douglass didn't think to ask where'd you went!" Shiara caught up with her friend as Téa tried to creep anonymously out of the building. "Not that I'm not grateful," she said, smiling mysteriously and hopping in front of Téa's path. "Leaving me all alone with Mr Sexy? You're the best friend a girl could have!"

Téa swallowed. That hadn't even occurred to her. She was the worst friend a girl could have. She supposed she was lucky Marik showed no interest in Shiara, although it was a bitter kind of lucky.

"Of course, he didn't seem much interested in talking," Shiara sighed. "Or even editing my essay. He kept doodling these figures in his notebook. Lots of bleeding hearts." She giggled. "Now that's my kind of guy!"

Her blood froze and she didn't say anything. Shiara just shrugged. "So, anyway, where'd you go?"

"Téa!"

She'd never been more grateful to see Yugi trotting up to her. Joey and Tristan, faces grim, were right behind him.

"Shiara, I've got to go," she said hurriedly. "Bye, see you tomorrow."

"Bye!" Shiara called as Téa practically ran up to Yugi. She grabbed her friend's hands.

"Yugi, what happened?" she asked urgently.

To her shock, Yugi blushed and looked away. Joey's face formed a slight grin, and he answered Téa. "Let's just say, Marik's not the only one who can do mind-control!"

"It's not mind-control!" Yugi protested. "It's just… scrambling their brains a little. It wasn't me anyway. It was Yami." He pouted defensively.

"Yeah, well, long story short we didn't get in trouble," Tristan said, scratching his head.

"So where have you been all day?" Téa asked miserably.

"Following Marik," Joey said in a low voice, glancing around. "Yug and I told Tristan what's been going on."

"You could have told me, Téa," Tristan said immediately. She hung her head.

"Anyway, as we were heading back to class, the bell rang and everyone came out of English room- except for you. Marik was the last one out. We were afraid he'd done something to you, so we followed him. Then Tristan overheard Melinda saying you must be sick or something because you'd been in the girls bathroom for the last half hour. We tried to find out more, but…"

"See, I'm not really on Melinda's good side," Tristan said, wincing. "Remember how I blew bubble-gum in her hair last week? Speaking of which…"

"Mister Taylor!"

"Yeah, him," Tristan muttered. They all glanced up to see the elderly History teacher, Mr Brundst, marching across the yard towards them.

"I hope you weren't planning on going anywhere," Mr Brundst said sternly, "Because you still have a detention to serve."

"The bubble-gum thing," Tristan whispered to Joey, who laughed.

Mr Brundst looked at him and raised his eyebrows. "You wouldn't care to join him, would you, Mister Wheeler?"

"Ah, no thanks," Joey said hastily. He lifted a hand to Tristan, who began to trudge after the professor. "So long, buddy!" he called, then laughed a little again.

"Téa, I told Grandpa I'd go home right after school to help with the Game Shop," Yugi said, looking guilty. "I mean, I promised this like a week ago, before…"

"It's okay, Yugi," she assured him. "The most important thing is for you to keep your promises."

"_No_," both Yugi and Joey said in exasperated unison. She blinked, and Joey continued. "The most _important_ thing is for you to be safe, Téa." She flushed and looked away.

"But I'll walk with you guys to the junior high," Yugi said, brightening a little. "Then I'll hurry home."

"Why are we going to the junior high?" Téa wondered aloud as they started off. The other school was just a block away.

"To pick up Serenity," Yugi reminded her. "She's got a plan."

"Oh yeah, what _is_ that plan?" Téa asked.

"Oh yeah! Hey, Yug, what's my sister's plan?"

Yugi looked distinctly nervous. "Um, I think I'll just let her describe it to you. I think she could do a much better job than I can."

Joey and Téa exchanged raised eyebrows. Yugi stumbled forward.

"So… where did Marik go?" Téa asked, desperate to break the silence but immediately wishing she'd chosen a different topic.

Joey shrugged. "He left school right after English and we all followed him. He just prowled the streets a lot. Didn't go near Domino Museum, where Ishizu is. He didn't go near anything important, really. He avoided the Game Shop, KaibaCorp, Duke's Game Shop… he stuck to the low-life areas."

"He knew we were following him the whole time," Yugi added quietly. "Finally, about an hour ago, he turned around and challenged me-I mean, Yami- to a duel."

"He did have the Millennium Rod, too," Joey chimed in. "Stuck in his back pocket. I don't know how he carried it without anyone noticing, but it doesn't matter."

"Did you _duel_ him?"

"Well, we started to," Yugi said, brushing his bangs away from his face unhappily. "About halfway through the duel, we- that is, me and Yami- were winning. Then he played this weird card I'd never heard of. The alley filled with smoke, and we could barely breathe. By the time it went away, Marik was gone. We headed back to the school after that."

"Strange," Téa murmured, lost in thought.

"Yugi said it wasn't really that strange. Marik had nothing to lose by running away. All he cares about now is you, for whatever sick and twisted reaso- oowwww!"

Yugi had nudged Joey sharply in the ribs. "Sorry," he apologized, his face pink. Téa, for her part, was feeling slightly sick.

"Well, this is where I leave," Yugi said, peeling away. "Take care, guys. Call me if anything happens. I'll call you tonight- on your cell phone, Téa, because I don't know where you'll end up."

They didn't have time to question him further, because he was already jogging down the street. Téa swallowed nervously, feeling an urge to clutch onto Joey's arm. But the junior high had evidently just dismissed, and kids were pouring out onto the grounds. At least the crowd made her feel slightly safe.

"So let's be on the lookout for Serenity," Joey said, staring at the tops of the kids' heads, already searching for a cap of red hair. Téa nodded and began scanning as well.

She didn't see Serenity, but she did see one boy that looked familiar. '_Mokuba Kaiba_,' she realized. She hadn't known he was in junior high already. He must be older than he looked.

And, evidently, more mature too. He was walking hand in hand with a slightly taller girl. As she watched, they stopped and faced each other. Mokuba leaned up and planted a kiss on either one of the girl's cheeks. She giggled and turned her head slightly.

It was Serenity.

Joey's head was starting to turn in the direction where Mokuba and Serenity were now very publicly making out, so Téa did what any other of Serenity's true friends would do in this situation.

She stomped on Joey's foot and shoved him to the right.

"Hey!" he yelped, flailing his arms to keep his balance.

"Sorry, I was startled," she lied, moving around behind him. He turned his head toward her, and away from his little sister. She saw Serenity look up, recognizing her brother's voice. When she saw the back of Joey's head, she gasped. Turning quickly to Mokuba, she spoke a few hurried words. He nodded, gave her a quick peck on the cheek, and ambled away. Serenity wiped her mouth quickly and hurried over.

"Nothing's wrong, Téa?" Joey was demanding when his sister came up behind him.

"Hello, Joey!" Serenity said cheerfully.

"Nothing's wrong," Téa told her friend, then turned toward Serenity. "Hi, Serenity. How are you?" She winked slightly, so Joey couldn't see.

Serenity blushed brightly. "I'm fine," she said, gnawing her lip.

Téa glanced over Serenity's shoulder to see Mokuba casually leaning against the flagpole. When he saw her staring, he gave her a sheepish wave. She smiled back at him. She'd always liked Mokuba; good for Serenity.

"Hi, Serenity," a blonde girl said, sidling up real close. She turned her bright smile on Joey. "You must be her brother!"

"Yup," Joey said absently, glancing around. The blonde blinked, then renewed her efforts.

"You're in high school, right? I'll be there next year! Will I see you around a lot? How is the high school? Is it exciting?"

"It's school," Joey said blankly. "How exciting could it be?"

The blonde trilled. "You're so funny!" she exclaimed.

Serenity groaned and dug the palms of her hands into her eyes. Téa herself felt like melting into the ground.

"So what are your plans now?" the girl asked, leaning in closely to Joey and batting her eyes. "Are you and Serenity going anywhere? Would you like company? I'd _love_ to spend time with one of my dearest friends and her older brother!"

"Nah, just hanging out with Téa," Joey said, clapping the brunette on the shoulder. "We're still in the planning stage." He affectionately ruffled her hair, in a sort of cross between an affectionate pat for Serenity and a viscous noogie for Tristan. Evidently, he forgot that she was neither. Téa's head jiggled back and forth and her eyes nearly crossed.

The blonde sent Téa a speculating look. Téa tried to shake her head no, but Joey's hand was still there. She settled for making a big 'X' with her fingers. '_No, we're not together!_' she mouthed. Serenity had progressed to being amused.

"Well, we should go so you can tell us your brilliant plan, Serenity," Joey announced, removing his hand from Téa's head. She gingerly rubbed her peak. "Come on." He nodded good-bye to the blonde, who looked flustered for a minute but then called, "Bye!" She then turned to her group of friends, who were all standing by with their jaws nearly hitting the ground. In unison, they all squealed.

"What was that?" Joey asked, startled by the noise. He began to turn around and look, but Serenity dragged him back. She was sure that, back there, they were all going, 'He was so _hot_!', 'Nicole, you are so lucky!', 'What did he say?', 'Are you dating yet', and 'Who was that other chick with him?'. She heaved an irritated sigh; the other girls in her school were pretty darned shallow sometimes.

"_That_," she said lightly in response to his question, "was probably the worst display of flirting I've ever seen Nicole do."

Joey looked thunderstruck. "Flirting?" he asked dumbly. Téa rolled her eyes.

"Men…" the brunette muttered, rolling her eyes at Serenity. The redhead giggled.

"You should be flattered, Joey," Serenity teased. "Nicole obviously liked you."

Joey blinked. "How could you tell? She doesn't know me!"

"Wouldn't have mattered to her," Serenity said, shrugging. She stopped walking, since Mokuba was shooting them a curious look. She'd asked him to wait there. Joey and Téa stopped as well. "She just wanted to go out with you."

"Me?" Joey pointed at himself. "But… I don't like younger girls."

Suddenly seeing an opportunity, Serenity plowed through eagerly. "Yeah, you like older girls… like, Mai's age, right?"

"I don't like Mai!" Joey spluttered.

Serenity raised her eyebrows innocently. (So what if this opening involved embarrassing Joey just a teensy-bit?) "I didn't say you did, big brother. I just said you liked girls her age."

Having succeeded in striking Joey speechless, she hurried on. Téa watched in amusement. "It's okay. I happen to like younger guys."

Joey's mouth opened and closed, rather like a fish. "In fact," Serenity said determinedly, "I'm dating one now."

Well, that worked to snap him out of it. "You're _WHAT?_"

"Yeah," Serenity smiled. "He's really sweet and smart. Incidentally, he lives in a big house."

"Wait a second-" Joey began.

"Actually, it's more of a mansion," Serenity said thoughtfully.

"You have a _boyfriend_?"

"And it's very high-tech, high-security. I already asked him. He said Téa could stay over there. It's the safest place in Domino. It's probably safer than the bank, even."

"Since when have you been dating him?" Joey demanded.

"Hi, guys," Mokuba said, appearing suddenly at Joey's left shoulder. "How's everything going over here?"

"Oh- hey, Mokuba. Hey! Do you know who Serenity is dating?"

"Oh, uhhh…" he started, glancing around nervously.

"Mokuba, are you serious?" Téa interrupted in a low voice. "You'd really let me stay at your house?"

"Not only would I let you, Serenity and I are gonna _make_ you," he said, crossing his arms and eyeing her. "She told me you might not want to. But it's no big deal, trust me. She told me everything that was going on. That Marik guy's a real creep."

"Excuse me? Big brother here, got a bone to pick with you!"

"I-" Téa started, but Mokuba and Serenity each grabbed a wrist.

"You'll be safe there, I promise," Mokuba said, looking directly at her.

"Trust Mokuba," Serenity begged, squeezing her hand. "And Joey and I will come along too. Nothing will hurt you. And you won't be inconveniencing anyone."

"I suppose," Téa said reluctantly. The idea of staying at the Kaiba mansion spooked her, but not because of Marik. Maybe it was Seto Kaiba himself? She would just try to stay out of his way, she reasoned. "Okay."

"Good?" Mokuba asked eagerly.

"Good," Téa consented.

"Good!" Serenity affirmed.

"No, seriously, guys. Who is it?"

x

x

Notes: I thought no one was going to get it. I admit, I _hoped_ no one was going to get it. Then, quite literally at the last minute, someone submitted a review guessing Malik (probably meant hikari, which I intend). '….' didn't leave a screen name beyond the dots, but congratulations!

These were some of the most fun reviews to read. I was quite pleased at the range of guesses I got. My hints were extremely subtle but should make a lot more sense now. I did have a couple people hitting close to home:

Yamiko Yakou, who brought up Téa's nightmare about the stalker carving the bleeding heart onto her back, and actually said it could be Marik back in chapter 2.

Angelfirey, who realized that Yugi and Joey were in the picture with Téa, and therefore couldn't be the stalker. Funny how many people thought it was one of them anyway. :P

A smiley face (the symbols won't show up, much to my ire), who said that the stalker 'had some kind of power' and was a 'psycho'. Yep, that's our Marik, all right.

Hobbit13, who made me laugh, if you remember your review from Chapter 2. ;)


	5. High Tech, High Security?

Nightmare

x

Notes: Fixed a mistake last chapter; thanks to Misura for pointing it out.

x

x

Chapter 5

x

Seto had paused only once in the last three hours, and that was just a five-minute break to roll his shoulders a few times and use the two-way radio to request some coffee. The maid had dropped that off, and he'd drunken about half before becoming so absorbed in his work that he forgot about it. Now, as he stopped to arch his back, he saw the abandoned mug partially full of ice-cold coffee. He picked it up and dumped the contents into the trashcan before setting the mug on one of the side tables and turning back to his work.

About two hours ago, he'd heard Mokuba come in. He was considering going out there, but the file he'd been working on was extremely pressing. Seto did feel slightly guilty about the amount of work he'd been doing the last two weeks, but it _was_ for a good cause. He'd recently closed a deal with Domino Corporations. Once he finished this project, he'd be done with all the extra work he'd taken over. The wrap-up of the project, not as important as the initial plans, would go to his subordinates and he would be nearly free for an entire month. Not that he wouldn't have work; it would just be the same amount of work most employees were expected to do. And with the highly efficient skills he'd developed over the years, he would have a lot of free time to spend with Mokuba.

He thought he heard other voices as his little brother entered the mansion, and his typing had slowed so that he could listen. Serenity Wheeler's voice had rung out a little, so he'd gone back to his work and forgotten about the visitor. He trusted the two of them together, even if it had taken a few days of having the maid keep a close watch on them. He might not like the fact that Mokuba was dating the mutt's younger sister, but Serenity herself wasn't _horrible_. Mokuba had convinced him that he couldn't hold Serenity accountable for Joey's idiocy, just as it wouldn't be fair to judge either of the Kaiba brothers on the other. Besides, the fact that Mokuba had a companion made Seto feel a little less guilty about throwing himself into the work as he had.

The voices had died away soon enough anyway as Mokuba and Serenity moved to the other part of the mansion. So Seto worked steadily into the night. When he next glanced at the clock, it was two a.m. and he'd finished the project. Feeling smugly satisfied, he saved the file; then double-and-triple checked it in paranoia.

Seto left his trenchcoat in the room as he trudged down the hall. A maid would get it sooner or later. He blearily decided to just fall right to sleep in his dark pants and shirt; it wasn't worth the energy to change. Not that he would admit it, but the constant unrest from the last few weeks had finally caught up with him.

He started to turn into his bedroom, but some impulse made him hesitate. Slowly, he spun around and creaked open Mokuba's bedroom door; he and his little brother had rooms right across from each other.

His little brother's bed was empty. Not only that, his sheets and pillow were missing.

Feeling more confused than worried yet, but nonetheless wide-awake now, Seto started down the hall. He would search the mansion until he found Mokuba, and get an explanation for this confusing behavior.

x

x

Téa sat up, rubbing her eyes slowly. Her sleep had been anything but restful. She'd dreamed that she was under the mindcontrol of Marik once more. But this time, instead of being ordered to bait Yugi and Yami, she was being made to sit on a chair in the middle of the room. Marik circled her, a predatory smile on his face. She stared blankly ahead. Finally, he stepped up and grabbed her chin, testing his grip. It was getting hard to breathe. Marik opened his mouth and started to laugh-

And then she'd woken. Téa shuddered involuntarily, then glanced around at her companions. Joey was wedged in between Serenity and Mokuba; he'd put his foot down on letting them sleep next to each other. The couple had inched up so they could hold hands over his sleeping head. Téa smiled slightly as she watched the three of them doze.

She sat up, scratching the top of her head. Luckily, they hadn't seen Kaiba- Seto, she supposed she'd better call him. Mokuba had informed them, in a slightly depressed tone, that Seto had been working on some really big project and hadn't emerged from his office except for school and maybe an hour or two of sleep a night. Sometimes Mokuba was just waking up to shower when he caught Seto creeping in his room for twenty minutes of sleep before school started.

Serenity had gently squeezed Mokuba's hand as he related this, and Joey had snorted under his breath.

She'd asked Mokuba about the security systems, but he confidently informed her that everything was automatic and overseen by a team of guards living in a control room built in an obscure wing of the mansion. He had, however, dashed over to them to tell them to keep a closer eye out, while Joey and Téa unraveled the four sleeping bags the younger Kaiba had brought out. He also went with Serenity to his room (a fact Joey didn't realize until after they got back) and the closet, and the two of them came back with an armload of blankets, sheets, and pillows. To top it off, Joey had raided the Kaiba's kitchen while a red Téa tried to mumble an apology to Mokuba.

Unfortunately, Joey had been so kind as to share the soda he stole- and now she had to go to the bathroom. Not that she knew where it _was_, in this house. She'd used it before, but it had been off the kitchen and she didn't even know where that was. But it couldn't be _that_ hard to find. And she didn't want to wake Mokuba to help her find it. And never mind how creepy the house looked at night; she couldn't wake Joey just because she was scared. Besides, when he saw Serenity and Mokuba holding hands in their sleep he might explode.

She gently pushed the sheets over her legs and stood up. She was wearing her oldest, most comfortable pajamas; flannel pants and a tanktop. It was vaguely comforting, and she found herself wishing she'd brought one of her old stuffed animals to cuddle. Softly, she padded out of the room, catching the glowing green letters of the digital clock on the stand in the corner. 2:13. She'd rarely been awake at this hour of the night.

She passed three doors on her left that looked too big to go into a bathroom. How many rooms did this house have, anyway? How many did it _need_? Where could they all go?

Téa came to the end of the hallway and furrowed her brow. Solid wall was directly in front of her, with an opening to her right and a door to her left. She put her head through the opening to the right and craned her neck, straining to see in the faint light: a staircase. She tentatively opened the door, but it was just another staircase. Disappointed, she tried to shut it as quietly as possible. When she turned around, she found herself directly facing something dark, broad, and living.

x

x

Seto stared down at Téa Gardner's frightened blue eyes. '_She's got really big eyes what the hell is she doing in my house?_' he thought disjointedly. "Gardner?"

"Kaiba!" she squeaked, jumping backwards and nearly bumping into the door. "I'm sorry! I didn't think- Mokuba said you wouldn't be down here-"

"Mokuba?" he growled, pushing past her and striding down the hallway. He veered right, into the living room. At once, he flipped on the blinding overhead lights and bellowed, "_WHAT IS GOING ON HERE?"_

x

x

"Mokuba, you should have known better."

"This has nothing to do with Serenity!" Mokuba protested. "She's not the reason everyone is here!"

"You were _sleeping_ right _next_ to her and _holding_ her _hand_," Seto repeated scathingly.

"Joey was between us!" Mokuba pointed out.

"Yo, Mokuba," Joey called, poking his head out from the refrigerator. "What kinda cheese is this?"

"Expensive," Seto responded shortly, striding across the room and yanking the package from Joey's hand.

"Look, nothing was going on between me and Serenity," Mokuba said in exasperation. "Don't you believe me?"

"Well, I thought I did," Seto grunted, dangling the cheese above his head and away from Joey's frustrated jumps.

"Gimme that! It smelled good!"

"Too good for you," Seto growled, passing it from one hand to the other. Joey leapt in the air and came down heavily on Seto's foot. He yelped in pain and shoved Joey across the kitchen and into Serenity.

"Oof!"

"Sorry, sis."

"Leave my girlfriend alone!"

"Hey, I'm her brother, buddy. You tell _your_ brother to leave me _and_ my sister alone."

"Seto…"

"Don't you even think about saying it, Mokuba."

"It's okay, Mokuba, I'm fine. I just want you guys to calm down."

"Seto, you're missing the point. Serenity and Joey are here just for company. It's Téa who's in trouble."

"As a matter of fact, little brother, it's _you_ who's in trouble now."

"Aw, Seto!"

Téa was the only one not joining in this conversation. She sat at the bar-style gleaming counter, elbows on the table and head in her hands. She was staring despondently at what she could see of her own pale reflection.

"Mokuba."

"Mokuba!"

"Seto!"

"Kaiba!"

"Serenity-"

"Joey!"

"Mister Kaiba!"

Everyone turned to look at this new arrival. A middle-aged, graying man stood uncomfortably in the doorway. Téa slowly lifted her head to look at the man. His suit identified him as an employee in the mansion, and the gun tucked carefully into his pocket marked him as one of the security guards.

"Mister Kaiba," the man repeated, addressing Mokuba. "That is, Mister Kaiba Junior. Mister Mokuba."

"Get on with it," Seto growled impatiently, fluidly shifting the imported cheese to his other arm right before Joey pounced.

"Mister Mokuba, you asked us to inform you if the cameras picked up an intruder on the premises," the guard said carefully. "Well, we've picked up something."

Téa's arms hit the table with a thunk. Seto shot her a half-irritated, half-confused look.

"A person?" Mokuba asked calmly, moving over.

"Yes."

"I'd like to take a look."

"You can certainly view the video if you'd wish, but for your convenience I printed out this," the man said, handing Mokuba a small square of paper. A photograph, Téa realized. "It's the clearest shot we had of the prowler."

Mokuba only needed to glance at it for a second. "That's Marik, all right," he said grimly, crumpling the paper into a ball. Seto moved up behind him and took the picture.

"What the hell is Marik Ishtar doing on my property?" he demanded angrily.

"Stalking Téa, you insensitive creep!" Joey's voice rang out.

x

x

"Marik."

His body tensed like a cat. How hadn't he seen this threat coming? He whirled around, crouched low, holding the Millennium Rod out like a weapon.

The dark Bakura laughed in amusement. Marik stiffened, then slowly unwound. "Tombrobber."

"My skills haven't diminished," Yami Bakura said, sounding pleased. Marik offered a stiff shrug.

"What are you doing here?" he asked, surly. A sudden smile lit up his face: "If you've come here to help-" he started, but abruptly his smile faded. "If you've come here to help, that's fine, but don't expect a share in the profits."

"You mean the girl?" Bakura asked, sounding amused. "No, thank you. I have no interest in petty things like that any longer."

"What do you have an interest in?" Marik asked guardedly.

Bakura shrugged. "The Millennium Items. Power. Whether you can pull this off or not."

"What do you mean?"

"Let me put it this way." Bakura put a finger to his lips, grinning evilly. "If you can obtain the girl within a week, I shall offer you my services in eliminating all threats to your safety- the so-called Pharaoh, for one, who would do anything to stand in your way." Marik's eyes narrowed.

"If, however-" Bakura paused. "If she is not in your firm grasp at the end of the week, I claim your Millennium Rod."

"That's ridiculous!" Marik spat. "I would never agree to a bet like that!"

"And why is that? Afraid of losing her? Do you realize, perhaps, that you never had her?"

"No," Marik hissed. "But Téa is not one to be toyed with."

"Hmm." Bakura paused, leaning back against the fence surrounding the mansion and crossing his arms. "Am I to suppose, then, that Gardner means a lot to you?"

Marik drew his lips back over his teeth.

"Perhaps…" Bakura started thoughtfully. "Perhaps not a bet is in store, but a bargain."

"I'm listening," Marik said guardedly. "But I don't promise anything."

The white-haired spirit used his foot to push himself away from the fence and began pacing. "I help you to get the girl and wipe out her friends. Once the two of you are safely away together, you give me the Millennium Rod." At Marik's hesitant expression, he added: "And I vow to come to your aid in the future, should you need me."

Marik snorted. "Last time we made a bargain, you failed to keep it."

"And would it have mattered in the end?" Bakura retorted, stung. "As I recall, you came running to me when your other half took over."

"And then you lost the duel for good."

"I wasn't alone!" Bakura snarled. "You were right there! You couldn't have done better!"

Silence, except for their heavy breathing.

"You would have to pledge it."

"Very well."

From a pocket Marik hadn't seen, the yami drew out a dagger. The blonde boy watched closely as Yami Bakura dragged the sharp blade across his flesh, letting a few red drops of blood trickle to the ground.

"Aaah," Bakura sighed, apparently reveling in the pain. "There. I pledge my loyalty to you in capturing Téa Gardner for your sake alone. Should you deliver the Millennium Rod to me as promised, I will help you forevermore in defending your property."

"Done," Marik said, putting his hand over the dagger. With a sigh, Bakura sheathed it.

"Done," he repeated.

The two of them grinned demonically at each other, the old alliance renewed. But when Marik turned to gaze again at the mansion, now ablaze with light, Bakura's grin became cruel.

_'Fool. Never trust a tombrobber._'

x

x

"Wheeler, consider yourself lucky I don't throw you out."

Seto's voice was suspiciously absent of the usual venom. He simply sounded weary.

Téa was wrapped up in a huge, fluffy blanket and huddled on the loveseat in the living room. Seto sat, arms and legs crossed, in a high-backed chair next to the loveseat. Across from them, Serenity and Mokuba sat next to each other on a long couch. At least, they were sort of next to each other. They would have been a lot closer if Joey weren't leaning over the edge of the couch, thrusting his upper body in between them as he glared at Kaiba. "You can't throw me out!"

"I can indeed, and I'm coming very close to it," Seto threatened.

"No you can't! Téa needs me!"

"Please," Serenity interrupted, clasping her hands together. "Can we stop this?"

"Yeah, let's stop," Mokuba said, crossing his arms and leaning back into the soft cushion of the couch. "What do we do?"

Joey huffed and drew back slightly, abandoning the argument with Kaiba.

"Go to sleep, because it's past our bedtimes," Seto responded coldly.

Téa gave a slight shiver and glanced up at him. He wasn't looking at her, but rising from his seat. "It looks like you're set as far as sleeping quarters go," he said, indicating the mess of blankets and sleeping bags on the floor. "I'll be down the hall, should you need me."

With that, he strode calmly out of the room. Téa pushed the blanket off of her body and stood. "I'll be right back, guys," she said distractedly, heading off after him after taking a last glance around.

Joey's mouth was agape. "He doesn't mind us staying here?"

"He was embarrassed," Mokuba said crossly. "I keep telling him to be nice to my friends, but he's not very good at it. He can't just come out and say that it's okay for Téa to hide here, he has to tell you to go to bed and run out of the room!" He scowled. "Seto keeps saying that he has deficient social skills, which is just a load of bu-" He caught himself in time, grinning sheepishly at a glowering Joey, who was waiting to see if his baby sister's boyfriend had a dirty mouth.

"Look, Mokuba," Joey said, waggling his finger warningly. "Don't you swear around Serenity!"

The girl in question groaned and buried her head in her hands, wondering where Téa had run off to.

x

x

"Kaiba?"

Seto paused in mid-stride. After a few agonizing seconds, he turned around. Téa remembered the incident a few days before, where he hadn't bothered to stop walking, and felt grateful. Abruptly, her brain reorganized the jumble he'd spoken: '_H'whsrt__ gnot w'm rutr'_… 'His sister is going out with my brother.' At least _that _mystery was solved.

"I just wanted to say thank-you," she said shyly. "For letting me stay here." She paused, rubbing her arm absently. It wasn't easy to admit, because she knew Kaiba despised weakness, but she had to say it anyway. "I'm really scared to go back outside right now."

"Gardner, why the hell are you thanking me?" Seto questioned roughly. Her sapphire eyes widened slightly.

"I mean, who do you think I am? How could anyone throw you out of their house now? Marik is out there, wandering the streets like a psycho he is. I would never willingly send you into danger. No one would." He crossed his arms, daring her to argue with him. When she was silent, shocked, he added, "You don't need to be thanking me right now. You don't need to be thanking anyone. Those who suffer much, deserve even more. They might not always get it, but they deserve it. You aren't being handed all this help from your friends- you're justified in getting it."

She was completely floored. Seto eyed her, a faint tinge creeping into his pale skin. Was he blushing?

"So no more of this whining crap!" he suddenly bellowed, and spun around and stomped down the hall.

"Kaiba!" she called before she thought about it. He froze, and turned around again.

"What?" he asked, his face a careful blank. She bit her lip, deciding it would be better not to cross him right now.

"Uhh… could you tell me where the bathrooms are?"

x

x

"We were beginning to worry about you," Serenity said softly when Téa re-entered the room. "Joey was about to go looking for you."

"Yeah," Joey piped up, looking up from examining the design on the sleeping bag. "What were you talking to that creep about, anyway?"

Mokuba coughed discreetly. Joey had the grace to look a little embarrassed and mumble an apology.

"I was using the bathroom," Téa said, arranging herself on one of the sleeping bags and smoothing the edge of her pajamas down.

"Aaah," Joey said, nodding wisely. "Womanly necessities."

She raised her head slowly and gave him an incredulous look. "No, Joey," she said carefully, pronouncing every word like he was an imbecile. "I. Had. To. Pee!"

"Oh," he said, face red. Serenity threw back her head and laughed- the first time any of them had really laughed that day.

"Mai told him, about two months ago, that he didn't understand women," she explained to Téa through a grin. "He hasn't forgotten about it yet. And he still doesn't understand us, but you have to give him points for trying."

Joey grumbled something unintelligible and got up, pacing restlessly. He pressed his forehead to the window and stared out at the broad expanse of lawn, lit an eerie green at the borders by the light streaming from the window but fading to an even more intimidating darkness.

"Say, Mokuba," he said, seriousness back in his voice. "How far away is that fence?"

"About a hundred feet," Mokuba guessed. "Two hundred in the back, but only fifty on the sides."

"Hm," Joey grunted. "I almost wish it were closer. When it's so far away, it's hard to tell it's there."

"But we have the cameras," Mokuba reminded him. "They're at staggered intervals along the fence and have built-in motion sensors."

"Didn't do much good before," Joey grumbled. "I mean, they picked up that Marik was there, but he went away on his own. What good is knowing that he's there if we can't do anything about it? And if we ever tried to go out there- look at the lawn! It's completely flat and open. We'd be walking targets! The only bushes are along the fence, which might be handy for _Marik_."

Mokuba bit his lip. "I should probably tell you what I had the guards do," he confessed. "Right after our fa… right after Gozaburo disappeared, Seto got really nervous for a while and he built in a laser system to work cooperatively with the cameras. I had the guards turn it on."

Serenity gasped loudly, and they all turned to look at her. "Mokuba!" she said, sounding alarmed. "The robots would _shoot_ Marik?"

"What other choice do I have?" Mokuba asked defensively. "The fence can be made electric, but I bet that wouldn't stop Marik. Sometimes you have to resort to the big guns. All our security is designed to protect against regular burglars, but we've never had one quite like Marik."

"But I'm sure you've had to consider high-tech robbers," Téa said slowly. "Mokuba, exactly what kinds of security do you have?"

Mokuba blinked a little, then came to stand by Joey at the window. Right under the window was their heating system, blowing out warm air and causing the glass to fog. He absently traced a house out, then a fence surrounding it.

"If this is the house, here's the fence. You know about the cameras and the lasers. The fence is electric at the top, with sticks to keep away the birds. There's also a way to turn the electricity on completely- to make the whole fence electric- but I don't want to do that, it's too risky. A stray animal could come too close."

"What if a stray animal comes too close to the lasers?" Serenity interrupted passionately.

His shoulders hunched. "The lasers are targeted specifically for humans," he said softly. "They're very sophisticated."

"All right then, Mokuba. What if a _human_ wanders too close? Are you going to shoot them too?"

"Well, that's the thing," Mokuba said pleadingly. "You know about the main fence, but there's a second loop. That's barbed wire, and it's got a kind of force field around it. It's like a milder version of an electric fence. Most people wouldn't be able to cross it. Of course… Marik already did," he continued, his eyes darting from side to side. "That's how the cameras picked him up. If he's out of their range now, he's probably hanging somewhere just beyond that fence."

"How do you think he got through?" Joey asked.

Mokuba shrugged. "Smashed his way in?" he offered. "Cut it up with the Millennium Rod?" He hesitated a second. "Stood the pain and climbed over?"

Téa squeezed her eyes shut, hearing his demonic laugher. Serenity put a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"Anyway, if anyone got over the main fence- which trust me, Téa, is extremely difficult- the sensors would go off." He absently doodled in the perspiration on the window. "Lights would start flashing out there, and an alarm would go off in here. Then a couple trap doors in the lawn would open, and robots on wheels would come out. Their job is to protect the house. Believe it or not, we have a couple of dogs too." He grinned. "Roland convinced Seto that we couldn't rely _only_ on technology. Anyway, the dogs and the robots fight off intruders. All the door and windows here automatically lock as long as they were already shut. Steel bolts, and magnetic fields to reinforce them. There are a couple passages that lead to an underground network. We follow that network to any of three target stations: the Bank, the Police Station, or the middle of the forest that runs along the beach."

He looked up to their astonished faces. "That must be _huge_," Serenity mumbled.

Mokuba smiled proudly. "Yeah, it is. Don't worry, you wouldn't have to walk that far. There is a pathway in case of emergencies, but when you get underground there are mini-trains to take you to the target stations."

"Your brother built all this?" Téa asked softly, her eyes wide. How could anyone be that utterly paranoid?

"Well, some of it was already in place for when Gozaburo was running things. The trains were already there. But Seto added to it a little bit. Now there are a couple of computer labs down there too."

"Well, Téa, I think you're in the best place you could be," Joey admitted. She nodded slowly.

"Mokuba, thank you again-"

"Don't thank me!" Mokuba interrupted. "You don't _need_ to!"

"That's what Seto said," she said, a small smile tumbling from her lips as if by accident. She'd referred to him by his first name.

"Good," Mokuba said in satisfaction. "Finally. He's starting to make up for his 'deficient social skills'."

x

x

"Tell me your plan!" Marik said roughly, feeling his skin tingle with excitement.

"Will you _be quiet!_" Bakura snarled, his concentration broken. "You're lucky they were done talking."

"You were listening to them?" Marik questioned, his violet eyes narrowing. "How?"

"Through the powers of my Millennium Ring," Bakura said smoothly, rising from his cross-legged position in the dirt and dusting off his bottom in a perfect imitation of his pristine hikari. "I have a plan."

"Well, Ra-damn-it, _tell me_!" Marik spat.

Bakura lifted an elegant hand and pointed his slender white finger at the Kaiba Mansion, where a single window was lit. "We wait until all the lights are out. Then we strike their weakest link."

x

x

Half an hour later, they'd finally stopped discussing strategy, mostly because they noticed it was giving Téa a headache. Her face, which had become so pale these last few days, was now positively white.

So she found herself lying on her back, in much the same position as she'd been a few hours earlier, before she decided to try and find the bathroom. Her head was pounding; she could hear her own heart beat. Listening to the hypnotizing rhythm, she drifted off into a discontented slumber. It couldn't rightfully be called sleeping, though. It was like she was floating out of her body, in a world of darkness and shadows. It creepily reminded her of her few stays in the Shadow Realm- no warmth, no sun, no happiness. She stared into the blackness, feeling it practically crawl all over her body.

Her mind was working furiously, causing her heart to beat louder than ever. She remembered, just two days ago, the conversation at the Wheelers. Joey had reminded everyone that he couldn't be controlled by the Millennium Rod. Yugi said he couldn't be either. And probably not Ishizu.

Seto hadn't seemed affected by it either, for some weird reason. In the classroom, when Marik had tweaked everyone's mind and erased memory of the scuffle, Kaiba had noticed that something was going on. She wished she'd thought to ask him if he remembered what happened.

She felt safest around them, really. And in the Kaiba mansion, she was probably the most physically safe.

'But technology can't stop mind-control,' a little voice in the back of her head whispered. 'And while Seto and Joey might be immune to it, Mokuba isn't. And neither is-'

She bolted upright, glancing wildly around. Outside, the dogs were howling like mad. To her right, Mokuba sat up as well, rubbing his eyes.

"The guard dogs," he muttered blearily. "Why are they howling?"

Dogs were supposed to be able to sense when an earthquake was coming. She'd even read about a dog who went ballistic right before its owner died in a car crash the other side of town. Was it possible that dogs could sense magic too? Did they feel the waves pulsating from the Millennium Rod, coming to possess an unwary mind?

"Where's Serenity?" Joey demanded, twisting around. "She was right next to me when I fell asleep!"

A low moan escaped Téa's lips. At precisely that second, a harsh grating noise sounded from outside and a piercing siren went off. Immediately, the occupants of the room clasped their hands over their ears.

"The alarm!" Mokuba hollered over the noise. Téa glanced outside in time to see the first wave of lights being set off. The flashes dimly lit up the room they were in. They were interspersed with small explosions: something was blowing up the automatic laser system. Across the room, a door flew open and Seto charged in the room, his lips moving in soundless swears. He scanned them to make sure everyone was okay, then roughly grabbed Téa by the arm.

"Come on," he hollered over the siren. "I'll show you the way out!"

She stumbled to her feet. "Serenity," she called.

"What?" From outside, a dog broke into furious snarls, then fell silent after a frantic yip. Téa involuntarily shuddered.

"Serenity!" she shrieked with all her strength. Seto paused and looked around the room.

"Damn!" he screamed. "Where is she?"

"I don't know!"

"Damn!"

He put an arm around her shoulder and pushed her out of the room, Mokuba and Joey following them anxiously. Down the hall, faint light from the outside still streaming in, something was coming out of the shadows.

"Serenity!"

The red-haired girl paused, looking straight ahead. Téa's blood froze, and she latched onto Seto's arm, trembling slightly. It could have been her imagination, but was Seto Kaiba shaking as well?

Serenity's lips curved into a wicked grin, her eyes focused on Téa. Her pupils were completely blank, but behind them Téa could have sworn she saw evil violet eyes, leering at her. Suddenly the attention shifted to Seto Kaiba, and Serenity's petite face twisted into an expression of utter rage. She let out a guttural roar and lifted her arm, wielding the weapon she must have taken from the kitchen.

Looking completely out of place in Serenity's innocent, smooth hand was a gleaming butcher knife.


	6. Escape Plan

Nightmare

x

Notes: Just one more chapter and an epilogue after this. Thanks for the reviews everyone. Mind-controlled!Serenity is really freaking people out, I take it. She scares me too, and I _wrote_ this.

x

x

Chapter 6

x

Seto anticipated that Joey and Mokuba would jump forward, so he swiftly put an arm out. He felt two bodies collide with it, and he pushed them backwards, his other arm instinctively wrapping around Téa.

Serenity was moving towards them slowly, her small fist tightly clutching the butcher knife. Her face was dimly lit by the open door behind them, and the alarm lights flashing rapidly. Her irises were completely blank. Seto didn't really believe in mind-control… but neither did he believe that the _creature_ at the end of the hallway was actually his brother's quiet, sweet girlfriend.

"Serenity!" Joey called, trying to shove past Seto's arm. Kaiba held it rigidly. "Serenity!"

"Serenity!" Mokuba chimed in, but his voice was filled with despair, in contrast to Joey's furious tones.

"Marik wants to kill all of you," Téa said breathlessly, shrinking back. "He'll use Serenity to kill you and take me."

"Well, he won't manage it," Joey said determinedly. "I know my sister. He won't be able to control her for long. _Serenity! I know you're in there!_"

"Joey," Téa said, her breath catching. "I know you broke his mind-control… but you can't count on Serenity being able to do the same thing!"

"Kaiba," Joey said grimly. "Take Téa and run. I know there are other ways out of this mansion. You'd better get out fast, because I have a feeling something else is going on here."

"I'm not leaving you alone, Wheeler," Seto spat. "Knowing you, you'd get yourself killed in a matter of seconds."

"_You're_ going to get _Téa_ killed if you don't get out!" Joey said loudly, shoving at Kaiba's arm again. Caught off guard, it slipped enough for Joey to duck under and start advancing towards his possessed sister.

Seto hesitated a fraction of a second. The way he was feeling… so strange. He was suddenly overcome by a strong surge of protectiveness towards Téa, the likes of which he'd only ever felt about Mokuba. He had to shield her. He had to make sure no harm came to this girl, ever. He almost felt…

He almost felt like he would die for her.

It made no sense, why he so suddenly cared for her as much as he did for his younger brother. Maybe it was that, like it or not, she'd been with him through the majority of his life-changing journeys. Maybe it was that she'd once put her own life in danger to help his little brother, and indeed risked so much to help Seto himself. Maybe it was the way that she never got angry the way some of her friends did, and when she did argue with him, it was with a passion and depth that he wished he could feel himself.

It was that she was so _alive_, so _intense_, so sweet and real and wholesome-

And now she was being threatened-

If anyone _didn't_ deserve this, it was Téa Gardner.

"Let's go, Mokuba," he growled, trying to grab his little brother's shoulder. If Wheeler was stupid enough to stay behind, so be it. He would take the two people who meant the most to him and get them as far away from danger as possible.

"I have to stay," Mokuba insisted. At that moment, Serenity and Joey both lunged forward and collided. The knife flashed through the air, nearly catching in Joey's shirt, but the blonde twisted away and sent them both sprawling to the floor. He pinned the flailing wrist down, wincing as he pressed into his sister's delicate flesh.

"Come _on!_" Seto nearly shouted, grabbing Mokuba's shoulder and dragging him forcibly away. Téa, with great effort, got her numbed body to move, rushing just ahead of Seto's guiding hand, now placed on her waist. She turned down a long, narrow hallway and started to move faster, but he caught her and pulled her back.

"Wait," he ordered, turning to face a giant painting. It spanned from floor-to-ceiling, leaving only a few inches in between. His hand flew up and fiddled with the elaborate border, then he leaned over and pressed his eye into the cleverly hidden retinal scan. There was a flash of light, a whir, and a click, and suddenly the whole painting slid down and hinged on one side.

"Get in, Mokuba," Seto commanded, moving back. "_MOKUBA!"_

A mane of raven-dark hair disappeared around the bend. "I'm coming, Serenity!" his voice drifted back. Swearing under his breath, Seto prepared to chase after Mokuba.

"Climb into the tunnel and wait for me there," he ordered Téa and sprinted down the hall. He reached the intersection and flew directly into a new body, stumbling backwards.

The violet eyes of Marik Ishtar gazed down on him as if surprised to encounter Seto Kaiba in his own mansion. Seto scrambled to his feet, eyes automatically darting to the Rod clutched in Marik's hand.

Marik's attention, however, had already diverted to Téa. His eyes lit up with a sick glee when he saw her, paused in mid-step, about to hurry into the darkness of the secret passage.

"Téa!" he shouted, and for the first time since this had all started their eyes actually connected and Téa was sucked into his thoughts for a fraction of a second. The raw lust and greed portrayed on his features scared her badly, and she stumbled backwards, her foot catching on the small ledge and sending her tumbling, battered, down the hidden staircase.

"Téa!" Marik called again, making as if to rush forward to her. He was stopped, however, by Seto Kaiba, one hand held arrogantly in front of him.

"As long as I live, Ishtar, I make you this promise," Seto growled under his breath. His voice raising with every word, he proclaimed: "You… will… _never_… TOUCH HER!"

"Try and stop me," Marik snarled, brandishing the Millennium Rod. Gold light shot from it, wrapping around Seto's limbs.

And, just as abruptly as it started, the gold light recoiled and shot back at Marik, knocking him off his feet and into the wall, where his head connected with a sickening _thud_.

"Nice try," Seto called over his shoulder, dashing back to the portrait and slamming the door behind him, sealing Marik out.

x

x

Serenity struggled violently. The hand that wasn't pinned down struck Joey hard in the eye, and he let go for a split second. Kicking him hard in the groin, causing her brother to rear back in blinding pain, Serenity managed to worm loose. She brandished the dagger above his neck, beginning the plunge downward-

"Serenity!"

Mokuba charged into the room, causing her to hesitate for a split-second. In that time, Joey put to use everything he'd learned about gang fighting and tackled her legs, sending Serenity flying backwards and the knife clattering uselessly down the hallway.

Deprived of her weapon, Serenity resorted to clawing with her nails. She caught Joey once in a vicious swipe across the face, but he gritted his teeth and didn't cry out. Instead, he devoted his breath to trying to reach her:

"Serenity, your mind has been taken over by Marik! Fight it! I know you're in there!"

"You don't want to hurt Joey!" Mokuba said, crouching next to her. She lunged at him, catching a lock of his hair and sharply twisting it, but inexplicably fell silent. There was a tremendous crash somewhere else in the mansion, but they all ignored it. Serenity glanced, puzzled, at her fist, which still had strands of hair in it.

"What just happened?" she whispered, her eyes restored to their normal, watery appearance, but by the look of horror that suddenly passed over her face she remembered what she'd done. She looked up at Joey's face, brandishing shallow wounds from her own nails, and burst into tears. He quickly gathered her up in his arms, and Mokuba leaned over, trying to pat her back.

"I'm so sorry," she sobbed, as Joey squeezed her gently.

"Sssh, it's okay, Serenity, you beat it. You fought it off and he's gone now."

"No," she hiccupped. "No, Joey, I-"

"It's okay, Serenity. We don't blame you, it's not your fault," Mokuba whispered.

"No-"

"But you beat him, it's okay," Joey reassured her.

"No, you don't understand!" she floundered, pulling back. Joey and Mokuba looked at her tear-stricken face. "I didn't beat Marik! He left, he pulled back. He didn't need me, he left me alone for now- but he could take over again at any minute!"

x

x

"Where the hell were you?" Marik snarled, in a furious temper. He threw open the door of Seto Kaiba's personal office, and kicked it when it banged back. He kept kicking it until it began to splinter, and then gave it a furious shove and stalked away.

"I was right here, of course," Bakura answered in an infuriatingly calm manner, sitting in Kaiba's high-backed chair and leafing through some papers.

"I could have used your help!" Marik exploded, slamming the Rod down on the table and putting a nice gash in the sturdy wood. "Téa got away! We need to shut off the power!"

"Come again?" he inquired, still maddingly placid.

"Kaiba helped her escape!" Marik growled, his eyes blazing. "Thanks to his eternally-damned security, I can't follow them, so I need you to shut off the power so I can break into the hidden passage!"

"That won't be necessary," Bakura said calmly.

"Tombrobber, you made me a deal!" he hollered. "And I say,-"

"I'm perfectly well-aware what you think you need," Bakura growled, rising from the chair and looking suddenly menacing. "But if you'll calm down enough to take a look at these papers, I'll show you something I think you'll be interested in-"

Marik looked. Slowly, his face relaxed until it once again curved into that terrifying grin.

x

x

Across town, Yugi Moto stared at the telephone receiver in his hand long after it went dead and began buzzing at him.

The call he'd received was one he'd been both dreading and expecting. Except for one strange detail, a detail that made him hesitate to jump out of bed and run across town although he'd been waiting all night in case he had to do just that…

"Yugi, who was on the phone?" Solomon asked, wandering into the room and rubbing his eyes. "I only ask because, you know, it's the middle of the night and I accidentally picked up. The voice seemed quite distressed. Was that your friend…?"

"Yes," Yugi said, making his decision and replacing the phone in the cradle, picking it up again almost immediately. The scrap of paper Ishizu had given him was tucked in his pocket, but he didn't need to look at the number. He'd long since memorized it.

"Grandpa," he said, cupping his hand over the receiver as it started to ring. "I'm going to need to go out tonight."

Whoever was on the other end answered immediately. Yugi turned his attention wholly back to the phone, and Solomon fancied he saw his grandson's eyes flash from wide violet to angry crimson. But he backed respectfully out of the room, trusting Yugi's judgment. He'd been acting so seriously the past few days… whatever could be wrong?

x

x

"We can't go to the Police Station," Téa said breathlessly. "They're all mind-controlled there."

She tried to ignore the look of disbelief Seto was giving her and said: "I don't know if I want to risk the Bank, either. Mokuba said something about a forest-"

"Are you okay?" he asked abruptly.

She blinked at the sudden turn in the conversation, wondering what he expected anyway.

"You fell down the stairs," he said quietly, gesturing at the staircase largely shadowed in gloom. "That must have hurt. Does anything feel broken?"

"N-no," she said, bewildered at this sudden display of caring. "I bruised my shoulder and my leg, but I'm all right. I can still walk."

"That's good," he said, his voice still strangely low. He carefully put an arm around her shoulder: "Does this hurt?"

"No," she said, her eyes fluttering slightly closed. He was touching the shoulder she'd banged, but she'd been telling the truth. It didn't hurt. In fact, his touch felt strangely good…

"Okay," he said, steering her toward a small platform. There was a strange structure there; it looked sort of like a smaller version of a train car, but there was only one. Seto leaned over and punched in a code on the security box; with a whir, the door slid smoothly open.

He helped her into the car, which then closed back up and began moving. Téa had no idea how fast it was going, since there were no windows. The journey was smooth, but she still got the impression that they were moving at top speed.

The car was well-lit by fluorescent lighting on the ceiling. Kaiba heaved a great sigh and sank down on the plain bench, leaning his head back against the wall.

"It's been a hell of a night," he drawled.

After a second, Téa sunk down next to him, studying his handsome face in the harsh light. It was haggard with the stress of not just this one night, but of his whole life. His young face was lined and worn with worries that should be borne by no teenager. Despite this, he still managed to look strangely calm and peaceful when he dispensed with his eternal scowl, as he had now.

"We're going to the forest," he spoke after a minute. "It's about five miles away, so we should be there in another minute or two."

Her eyebrows rose at this: they had to be going a hundred miles an hour, then, since they'd been moving only for a minute.

"Kaiba?" she ventured. "What happened between you and Marik?"

He sat up slowly, his brow furrowing. "I've been meaning to ask you," he said, seemingly ignoring her question. "How much do you know about the Millennium Items?"

She bit her lip. "Not a lot, I don't think," she admitted, "At least compared to everything there is to know. I know that the Rod does mind-control- what do you need to know?"

He slumped back in his seat, a frown creasing his brow again. "Marik attacked me with the Rod," he said, and Téa gasped. A hundred awful thoughts flew though her mind before logic caught up with her again.

"But it rebounded onto him," Seto said in a low voice.

Without realizing it, she gripped his hand. He turned to look at her, startled, but his gaze relaxed and he didn't seem to mind.

"I don't know what happened," she said in a low voice. "But… you remember the tablet from the museum? Yami says-"

And then the power went out, and the car slowly ground to a halt.

x

x

Bakura was satisfied with the way things were going so far. His original plan had worked like a charm- Marik took over the Wheeler girl, had her swing open one of the doors, and when the alarm system went off they simply walked in. All the other doors and windows were bolted, but this one hadn't been subject to the system; and none of the rest of the Kaiba's petty security system was any match for the combined magic of _three_ Millennium Items.

Unbeknownst to Marik, while he was floundering around the house, Bakura had headed straight for Kaiba's personal office and placed in a phone call. At this moment, he was sure, the Pharaoh and his Millennium Puzzle were en route to the mansion. Matching Ryou's panicked voice had been a piece of cake. 'Yugi… come quick!' The runt had been so worried about Téa he hadn't had time to question what Ryou was doing in the Kaiba Mansion, and by the time he pulled himself enough to start wondering, Bakura had hung up.

Then he'd uncovered the plans for the Kaiba's security system, including where the three underground passages would emerge. Knowing Kaiba and Gardner would be heading for the forest, Marik had memorized the exit location and taken off.

Finally, as per Marik's instructions, he'd shut off the main power system. Of course, the escape routes were connected to an entirely different power source, but once that was off he was able to break into the tunnel and completely destroy the power network under there. That had been fun, he recalled with a savage grin, remembering how all the torn wires had sparked about.

His plan was fully in motion. With any luck, before the night was out, both the Millennium Puzzle and Rod would be his.

x

x

Yugi sat in the passenger seat, gripping the seatbelt. He was sure Ishizu didn't usually drive like this, and he actually wanted her to be speeding towards the Kaiba mansion- he couldn't get there fast enough- but he couldn't quite push away the thought that they were either going to be arrested or die.

She jerked the wheel, sending the museum van flying up Kaiba's driveway, then abruptly slammed on the breaks just in time to avoid careening into the wrought-iron gates. "Locked," she muttered, jumping out of the door.

Yugi followed her, nearly banging his head on the edge of the car door. His eyes were locked onto the security system, which was going off, sirens sounding crazily into the night. For a split-second, he wondered why no one else was coming. Then he recalled that the last house they passed had been at least a mile down the road, and the police- doubtless the first people the alarms alerted- were under Marik's control.

"Ishizu!" Joey called, flinging open the front door and catching sight of them. "Yugi! We've got major problems here!"

"I know," Yugi said breathlessly, pressing himself close to the bars as Joey sped up. Mokuba and Serenity emerged from the house, hurrying up as well. "Ryou told me."

"R- Ryou?" Joey asked, grinding to a halt uncertainly. "What's he got to do with this?"

"I don't know," Yugi said grimly. "But he told me to come here, so I got Ishizu and we sped all the way over."

"Yeah, well, Kaiba and Téa are gone," Joey said, sweeping a hand through his hair. Mokuba caught up and grabbed onto the bars as well. "They took an underground train and came out- where would they have come out again, Mokuba?"

"They probably wouldn't have gone anywhere public," Mokuba said uncertainly. "They'd probably have gone for the forest."

"Where in the forest?" Yugi asked urgently, adrenaline pumping into his bloodstream.

"I- don't know," he said, looking about two seconds away from tears. "I never bothered to find out, I never thought I'd have to use the escape route, all I know is that it's somewhere in the forest that runs along the beach."

"Which beach, North or South?"

"South," Mokuba answered after a seconds pause. "I think."

Yugi bit his lip hard. "Can you find out exactly where?"

"I might be able to," Mokuba said hesitantly. "The only thing is, it's on the computer, and I'd have to hack into the file, and the power's off anyway."

"Great," Yugi groaned, starting to back off. "Ishizu, let's go."

"Wait for me!" Joey yelped, rattling the bars. "I'm coming as soon as I unlock this damn thing-" He shook it furiously, then his eyes traveled to the top, fifteen feet above his head. He hesitated, then started scaling the wrought-iron.

"Don't, Joey!" Mokuba cried in alarm. "It's electric!"

"I thought the _gate_ was electric!" Joey said, letting go and sliding a few feet down.

"This _is_ the gate," Mokuba pointed out.

"But- the power's off-"

"Separate loop," Mokuba said grimly.

Joey gritted his teeth.

"We can't wait," Yugi said apologetically, ducking back into Ishizu's car. "Come when you can, Joey."

"I'll be right down!" he promised, spinning around and dashing back for the house. Mokuba and Serenity followed. On the other side of the gate, Ishizu's van peeled away, leaving the faint scent of burnt rubber.

"Can I borrow your cell-phone, Ishizu?" Yugi asked breathlessly. She nodded, not taking her eyes off the pavement zipping by. He fumbled around in her bag until he pulled out the black cell. "We're going to need help," he stated, beginning to dial.

x

x

"Okay," Joey said, kicking open the door that led to Seto's personal garage. "I'm going to join up with Yugi and Ishizu. We'll comb the forest until we find them."

"It's twenty miles," Serenity said despairingly.

"Which is why you and Mokuba should stay here and try to find out where the train's exit is," Joey said, hopping into the closest car. Even in this dark hour, he found time to grin: "A red convertible. Cool."

"Keys are in the ignition, the signal for the fence to open is on this flap," Mokuba explained, tapping it.

"He's not too worried about theft, is he?" Joey said, shaking his head.

"Are you kidding? Who could ever make it past security so far?" Mokuba replied, shaking his head. "Or at least, we _thought_ so…"

"Okay," Joey said, revving up the engine.

"Joey," Serenity said quietly. "I don't think you ought to leave me alone with Mokuba."

"Now's not the time to be worried about you guys having sex," Joey said sternly. "I trust you know the situation is way too serious…"

"I meant about the mind-control!" Serenity protested, her face turning red despite herself. "Marik could take over again any minute!"

Joey hesitated. "I think Marik's got other things on his mind," he said finally. "I hope he does, anyway."

"There's nothing we can do," Mokuba said definitely, reaching over and tapping a button on the wall. The garage door started to grind open: "Good luck."

"Call me if you find out anything," Joey called, holding up the cell-phone Téa had left behind. "Anything at all."

"Right," Mokuba shouted, and Joey peeled out of the garage. He zoomed up the driveway, opened the fence when he was still halfway down, and barely slowed before shooting through the narrow opening.

The figure that had been watching him calmly disentangled himself from the bush. The fence had started closing, but he managed to slip through.

"I assume Marik took over some poor fool's mind and got a ride to the forest," Bakura muttered angrily. "But I'd forgotten about this inconvenient mode of transportation. I had better hurry down there, before the Pharaoh ruins all of my plans…"

Headlights shone in the distance. He grinned ferally and stepped into the middle of the road, causing the driver to slam on the breaks. Bakura watched calmly as the car ground to a halt a mere two inches from his abdomen. The driver opened the door, beginning to curse angrily, but Bakura strode over. Pulling out his dagger, now rusted over at the tip with his own blood, he held it to the man's throat. "Out," he growled dangerously.

The man froze, staring at Bakura fearfully, then began to exit the car. However, Bakura's hand abruptly shot out and shoved him back in.

"Mortal fool!" he hissed, as if getting out of the car had been the man's idea. "I cannot drive! You will have to take me!"

He strode around to the passenger side, flung open the door, and stomped in. The man was frozen, too afraid to run away.

"You will bring me to the forest by the South Beach," Bakura commanded. He wouldn't head directly to the train deposit. It wasn't Gardner he was looking for…

It was the Pharaoh.

x

x

"Someone shut off the power," Seto hissed between his teeth.

Téa stared at the door, frightened. What if it had just sealed itself? What if they were stuck in this prison? What if they would be trapped here, helpless, until Marik came for them, his smug footsteps, his grinning face as he slid open the door-

"I think it unlocked itself," Seto said uncertainly, staring at the door. "It would be a safety precaution." He seemed strangely reluctant to try it, but eventually put his hand on the handle. It clicked open easily.

Seto breathed a sigh of relief. "We'll walk," he said, jumping lightly out and reaching back up to help Téa. She accepted his hand wordlessly, but somewhere in the back of her mind she registered that Seto Kaiba would never have done this before this week. "It's not far," he promised gently. "Maybe half a mile away. Maybe less."

"What'll we do once we're there?" she asked, following him along the platform.

He heaved a sigh. "I don't know," he admitted. "I'm living this night one step at a time."

"I can't fault you," Téa murmured. "I'm barely staying alive at all."

It was only after he squeezed her hand reassuringly that she realized he was still clutching it.

x

x

Marik seethed in frustration. As Bakura had predicted, he'd attempted to use the Millennium Rod to snag the first driver that passed by. The car was an old one, driven by a boy younger than he was and with a girl the same age in the passenger seat. Marik had climbed into the back and let them drive on towards the forest, their gazes now blank and fixed ahead.

And then the _fools_! Why were such young _fools_ out driving?? The boy had skidded off the road, jolting Marik quite badly and banging up the car. Marik had abandoned them at this point and was traveling on foot. He was almost there- another half-mile along the road before he could peel off into the forest.

Unfortunately, from there, it was another three miles into the forest. He gritted his teeth, half-wishing he had his motorcycle with him now. But it wouldn't be much help in the woods anyway…

Damn. He picked up his pace. He wouldn't let Kaiba get away with _his_ prize, _his_ trophy, _his_ Téa.

x

x

"I can't figure out _why_ Marik's so obsessed with Téa," Mokuba said, scrabbling with the control panel. Serenity shivered, and clutched herself. "I mean, she's nice, and she's pretty, but why _Téa_? Why not some other girl?"

"When Marik was fighting his darker side," Serenity whispered, her flesh breaking out in goosepimples, "He used Téa's mind as a safe haven and her body as a way to fight his evil half. While he was in Téa's mind, he saw some of the happiness she was used to. He saw all the love that was in her heart. And I think he wanted that for himself."

Mokuba's fingers slowed and he stared at her in astonishment. "How do you know that?"

"He took over _my_ mind," Serenity said, tugging on her hair in distress. "He's still in there. And when he- I- looked at Téa, I got the weirdest rush of emotions. I felt all of those things.

"Marik came to see Téa as _his_," she continued, her eyes welling with frightened tears. "He possessed her mind, and he became obsessed with her. When Yami defeated his darker side, the Millennium Rod's powers were screwed up for a while and the mind-link was broken. But Marik couldn't stop thinking about Téa. And finally he decided to go after her. He took her parents… he brainwashed the police… and he would have just used the Rod to convince Téa to come along with him, except…" she choked. "He's _playing_ with her! And now he's furious because he lost his big opportunity!"

Mokuba broke away from the control panel to nuzzle her cheek. She clutched him desperately for a second, then pushed him away. "You'd better get back to work on that," she sniffled. "We need to get the power on."

"Right," he said, resuming his attention. "Where do you think the guards are?"

Serenity hesitated. Should she tell him about the lightning-quick image she'd had of all that remained of his bodyguards: Not a trace left of them but a couple bullet shells, and a laughing Bakura tucking away his Morphing Jar?

"I don't know," she said quietly. She couldn't bring herself to talk about it.

"Because I could sure use them-" Mokuba started to say, and then the control panel sparked. Serenity gasped; blue sparks flew along with a puffing cloud of gray smoke. Mokuba fell backwards and didn't move.

"Mokuba?" she scrambled to his side. He wasn't breathing! "_MOKUBA_!"

Desperately, she put her hands to his chest, trying frantically to recall everything she'd learned about in her first aid course. She slammed the heels of her hand right above his heart, trying to get it beating. After a series of three pushes, she switched to mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. _'Come on, Mokuba, you cannot die. I don't know what I'll do. You have to live…'_

"For me," she gasped between breaths. "And for your brother!"

Mokuba's body suddenly convulsed, and he choked. She collapsed on her heels, starting to cry with relief.

"Ugggh…" Mokuba groaned, trying to sit up.

"_No_," she said firmly, tears running down her cheeks. "You almost died, Mokuba Kaiba. You're not moving."

Thankfully, he didn't argue. But after about five minutes of Serenity watching him and clutching his hand, wanting to get help but unable to (the power was out, the guards were unconscious, and Joey'd taken the cell phone), he summoned enough energy to speak.

"I almost died… and we're relatively safe here at home. What do you think will happen to Seto and Téa?"

x

x

"Here," Seto mumbled, pushing open the door and staggering into the cool darkness of the forest.

Téa followed him, exhausted. During the last few minutes of the trek, the true fatigue of the night- no, of the last few _weeks_, had set in. She couldn't remember feeling so close to dead in her life, and that was saying something considering everything she'd been through.

"We need to rest," Seto said thickly. She mutely nodded in agreement.

"Not in the open," she muttered blearily.

"There."

She cracked her eyes open just enough to follow his finger. He was pointing straight up. She craned her head backwards…

Some of the sleep vanished. "A fire watch-tower?" she asked dubiously.

"It's empty," Seto told her. "They only use it in the summer, when fire risk is high. The train purposely came out close to here," he added. Then he hesitated: "Do you think you're okay enough to try climbing a ladder?" he asked gently.

Téa looked over at the narrow wooden ladder leading up to the watch-tower. She swallowed hard. "Sure," she said, trying to sound forceful.

He glanced at her doubtfully. "I'll go up behind you," he consented. "In case… well." He motioned to the ladder. "Go on."

She trudged over and began to climb. The ladder seemed to go up and up and up and up forever… It was still dark, so at least she didn't have to worry about looking down. The ground was only a vague idea in the blackness, a hint of dark green among black. A breeze ruffled her hair, and she became mutedly aware of how horrible she looked. Dark circles, chalky skin, a rat's nest of hair, bruised skin, sullen features… she couldn't care less at this point.

Finally, she made it onto the wooden floor. It wasn't the most comfortable surface she'd ever been on, and the wood was starting to splinter, but again it was a case of simply not caring. She scooted over a few inches and laid flat on the ground. Seto clambered up the ladder behind her and fell to his knees, breathing heavily.

"I'll… stay awake… keep eye out," he panted.

She was about to fall into a dead sleep. Drawing on her last reservoirs of energy, she reached up and tugged on his arm. "Sleep," she mumbled, drawing him to the ground. He gave in almost immediately, his haggard face turned toward her. His cerulean eyes opened briefly, and that was the last thing Téa saw before she drifted off to sleep.

So, naturally, that was the sight that hovered in her dreams, watching her peacefully, keeping her safe.


	7. Rat Race

Nightmare

x

Notes: The last chapter, but be on the lookout for an epilogue.

x

x

Chapter 7

x

Seto woke first, goosepimples crawling all over his body. _Damn_, he thought, dread pooling in his stomach. He slowly brought himself to his knees.

The first rays of dawn were streaming in through the window, falling dangerously close to Téa's sleeping face. Seto reached over and brushed a lock of hair out of her eyes. She didn't move. For how exhausted she looked, and must have felt, she might as well be dead.

_If Marik gets his hands on her, she really might as well be dead_, Seto thought grimly. _But I made a promise. As long as I'm alive, he won't TOUCH her._

Renewed in his determination, he stuck his head out the opening and looked down the ladder. Exactly as he'd feared, exactly as he'd known, Marik stood at the bottom, his head turned straight up to face Seto.

"Kaiba!" he called tauntingly. "Come down and play! Oh, and bring Téa too…"

Seto gritted his teeth. He hadn't been prepared for this sudden, ruthless game: A game where Téa was the prize, awful as it sounded. But he had to go down now. He just wished their positions were reversed: approaching from above was dangerous, affording him a weak position.

He began his descent. Marik waited at the bottom, eyes gleaming, circling the ladder like a shark. When Seto was ten feet above the ground, just out of reach of Marik's arms, he paused. They both waited, Marik quivering with anticipation. Then abruptly Seto leapt, throwing himself as far away from Ishtar as he could. Marik lunged at him, but Seto managed to swerve away. The maneuver cost him, though, and as he stumbled to regain his balance Marik kicked him in the side. Marik got in another kick before Seto managed to get a firm footing on the ground. He was forced to stand still and brace himself as Marik's foot came into contact with his stomach, but in the next second he lashed out in retaliation. He kicked Marik viciously back, leaning so his longer legs worked to his advantage. His foot caught Marik right below the chin and sent the other boy reeling backwards. He wished he were wearing sneakers; he could do a lot more damage that way. But he and Téa had both run out in such a hurry, they were barefoot. He was wearing rough socks, and she had nothing. But there wasn't anything he could do about that now. He'd have to make do.

Seto wasn't one to lose an advantage, and he closed in on Marik, swinging his fist. Marik just barely managed to bring a hand up to block the blow. Gritting his teeth, Seto lashed out quickly with his opposite fist, catching Marik in the side of the head. Marik's neck gave an audible crack as it snapped to the side, but Marik shrugged to get rid of the crick and attacked Seto again. He grabbed the taller boy's arm, twisting it sharply. Seto hissed in pain and used the force of Marik's swing against him, forcing the other boy to fall forward and release the arm- but not after putting more strain on it. Ignoring the pain, Seto continued his circle and kicked Marik again, sending the blonde face-down into the dirt.

Seto leapt on top of him, intending to pin Marik's arms down. But Marik was too quick, and anticipated the move; he flipped himself over and kneed Seto in the gut. Gasping for air, Seto faltered, and Marik shoved him off. Seto went rolling in the dirt, but quickly stumbled to his feet.

Something hit him heavily in the back of the head, and he fell forward again, banging his nose badly. But that was the least of his worries. His vision was going red at the corners, and all he felt was blinding pain. Something warm was leaking out of the back of his head: blood. His own blood. What had Marik hit him with?

He rolled over onto his stomach; gold flashed in front of him. Damn Millennium Rod. Marik seemed hesitant to try to use its magic again, but he had no qualms about using it as a brute weapon. His vision was still blurry, but he could vaguely see Marik towering over him, raising the sharp edge to bring down directly into his stomach. Ignoring the sharp pain wracking through his body, Seto lifted both feet and kicked upward. He smacked Marik's arms away and off course. He scrambled to his feet, his arms questing frantically through the dirt. It was rocky ground, and he found a stone quickly. It wasn't as big as he would like, but he hefted it up nevertheless; he couldn't afford to be picky. Marik rushed him, obviously underestimating his remaining strength. Seto swung the rock straight up, hitting Marik hard. His jaw clicked together and Marik went down on one knee, clutching the Millennium Rod and gasping in pain.

This was it. He almost had him. But Seto swayed on his feet, his fist involuntarily opening and dropping the rock to the ground. He was so tired… and he hurt so much…

He was already falling when Marik bashed him over the head with the Millennium Rod. Then, mercifully, everything went black.

x

x

Téa woke up slowly, listening to the sounds of two boys fist-fighting below her. She lay dully on the floor of the watch-tower, hearing the grunts of pain, but couldn't summon the energy to look down. Only gradually did awareness creep back into her being. When she realized what was going on, she shot up, ignoring the pain of the blood rushing from her head.

"_SETO!_" she screamed with all her might, hanging nearly all the way out the door. He was standing, but wavering greatly from side to side. In front of him, Marik, clutching his face with his left hand, rose, brandishing the Millennium Rod in the other fist. Violently, he slammed it down on Seto's head, watching in satisfaction as the other boy dropped like a stone. Téa screamed again, barely aware of her own voice.

Marik, on the other hand, was highly alert to it. The second Seto was down, he whipped around. His body was bruised and battered, and he'd been stumbling throughout the battle, but now he straightened, feeling a surge of adrenaline. He locked gazes with Téa once again. Gasping, feeling her stomach churn, she pulled her head back inside. She backed up, flattening herself against the wall, glancing wildly around for weapons. There was nothing! The room was bare, save for a control panel, but that wouldn't do her any good.

The ladder was shaking slightly. He was coming. She swallowed strangled sobs. She'd never imagined it'd end like this, alone, cold and afraid, with Seto lying close to dead thirty feet below her.

The suspense was killing her. This was worse than any nightmare. She dully wondered what he'd do to her. He wouldn't kill her, at least. But he'd _use_ her, she was sure of that. He'd abuse her. It'd hurt far worse than death ever could. She clutched her skinny body, trying both to keep out the cold and to shield her breasts. She didn't want him to touch her. She didn't want to lose her virginity, unwillingly, by this creep. She _wouldn't_ let him take her like this.

Marik was rushing up the ladder far too quickly. She crossed the room silently, praying under her breath in a steady stream. The second his head was in view, she kicked it.

His face registered mostly surprise as she kicked it again. He winced, trying to heave himself up onto the platform. She stomped on his hand, throwing all her meager weight into it, and kicked his head again. It disgusted her, but she was filled with a desperate urge to get him _away_. She shrieked aloud, showering him with vicious kicks, letting all her anger and frustration pour out. He fell back, clutching onto the ladder desperately. She moved forward, but it was too hard to kick him from this position. And then, without warning, his hand snaked up and grabbed her ankle.

She gasped in surprise, flailing around. Marik tugged insistently, using her body to pull himself into the tower. His stomach was dragging across the floor, and he was nearly inside, so Téa threw caution to the winds and flung herself forward. He shifted his grip to clutch farther up her leg, and she shook it wildly, trying to disengage him.

Marik, sensing himself falling, grabbed desperately onto her leg with both hands. It didn't save him from tumbling backwards… but it _did_ drag Téa along too.

Her eyes flew open in shock as she fell over backwards, being dragged forward slowly, her back scraping against the floor. Then Marik lost his last grip on the ladder, and the two of them tumbled down to meet the fast-approaching ground.

She hit with a sickening thud, and a crack. Pain shot up her right arm, so intense that tears sprung to her eyes. She wondered if that crack had been her bone, splintering in two. By the sheer amount of agony flaring through the arm, she guessed that was a yes.

Marik, unbelievably, staggered to his feet, pulling the Millennium Rod out of his belt loop. He gazed down at her in dismay. "Téa…" he whispered through cracked, dry lips, falling to his knees. "I'm so sorry, my dear. I'll take you to a hospital… no, I'll take you home. The Hunters will bandage you. I'll get someone who will fix you up. You'll be fine… and then we'll be able to spend our lives together properly."

He reached out to touch her cheek, but she croaked, "Get away from me." He drew back, his face darkening.

"So be it," he spat, suddenly angry. "If I have to take you by force, Téa dear, I will. You might have wondered why I never had my minions just snatch you right out of school and bring you to me, or never took over _your_ mind again…" her eyes widened. "Yes, I never did. It would have been so simple, too. It would have saved us both a lot of trouble." He leered unpleasantly. "But I must admit, I enjoyed the chase…" he stumbled to his feet. "And now I've won. Once I dispose of Seto Kaiba, I'll take you back with me- and we'll see how much more protesting you can do!"

He gave a half-turn in the direction he'd last seen Kaiba, but was stopped before he could take one step. A small, purple handbag flew out of nowhere and smacked him across the right cheek.

x

x

Mai took careful aim, and whacked Marik again. She was lethal with a purse, especially one packed with makeup, a hairbrush, a small mirror, a change of heels, nail files, tweezers, and of course assorted nail polish.

He seemed shocked. He was even slow to react, peering at her in astonishment, and she was able to get another good blow in.

"Mai?" Téa asked weakly, struggling to prop herself up with her one good elbow. "What are you doing here?"

"Are you serious?" she asked, dodging Marik's first weak punch and shuddering. "Hon, I was looking for _you_. We _all_ are!"

" 'All'?" Téa repeated as Mai scurried back, away from Marik, starting to look worried.

"Of course! Yugi called _everyone_. We split up into groups of two. We're combing the woods, looking for you. Duke was with me." She kept retreating in a circle, holding her purse up defensively. "And I really wish he were here now! We got separated!" She raised her voice. "DEVLIN!"

"Right here, Mai," a cool voice sounded from behind the trees. Marik looked over just in time to catch a pair of dice in the eye.

"_Aargh_!" he bellowed, nearly dropping the Millennium Rod.

"Téa!" Mai said urgently, rushing to her side. "Hon, can you walk?"

"If it means getting away from Marik?" she asked grimly. "I'll try anything."

"That's the spirit," Mai said worriedly, glancing at Duke. He was chucking first dice, then when he ran out, stones he kept scooping down to pick up from the ground. It was quite obviously annoying Marik, but it wasn't doing much else. It was like throwing snowballs at a polar bear.

"I've had _enough_!" Marik roared, sweeping the Millennium Rod in a wide circle. Duke froze, the stone hovering in mid-air in front of him. Mai's arms suddenly slackened. Both their eyes went blank.

Téa felt her eyes fluttering closed, her mind drifting away. She struggled to hold onto it, to keep her grasp on reality, but it was fighting a losing battle.

_Who am I?_

_Who cares?..._

_'Sleep',_ a voice whispered in her ear. She complied.

Marik let out a deep sigh, surveying the scene. Mai and Duke and Téa were all his mind-slaves now. He didn't care about the first two, he'd just leave them here to break the news to the Pharaoh, but he finally had Téa. She'd given him quite a run for his money, even throwing him out of the tower. It no longer mattered, though, now that he was secure in his trophy. She'd regret it before long.

He absently rubbed his battered shoulder. His whole body ached. He grinned at Téa: she'd just have to make him feel better, was all. There was only one more thing he had to do before ordering her to come with him, back to the old Rare Hunter base he'd reclaimed. He was going to take care of Seto Kaiba, once and for all. That boy had caused him _far_ too much trouble, almost making him lose Téa forever! In fact… if it hadn't been for Seto Kaiba, Téa might not have tried to fight him so hard. Maybe she would even have been glad to see him. But Kaiba, with the mysterious way he defied the Millennium Rod and the way he threw himself all over her… Marik's blood was boiling. Once Kaiba was gone, Téa would truly belong to him, heart, mind, and body.

He ran a finger along the blade of the Millennium Rod. How fitting, that this would be the tool that destroyed Kaiba. His unwillingness to accept his past role as priest of Egypt and bearer of the Rod would ultimately do him in. Marik grinned. The Rod, like Téa, would give itself over to him once Kaiba was dead.

Close to salivating, Marik scanned the ground where he'd left Kaiba. Then he scanned it again. And again. This couldn't be! There was no _way_ Kaiba could have recovered, not after the beating he gave him!

Slowly, he turned to face the watch-tower. As he stared at it in disbelief, every siren in the place lit up. The noise pierced through the air, and the lights on top began to rove, calling to each one of Téa's friends that was out prowling the woods. It was impossible to miss.

He was in very real trouble.

x

x

"I wouldn't give anything to be out of town right now," Mako vowed grimly. "I just hope Téa's okay. She was a wonderful girl."

Yugi sniffled a little, wondering if he'd ever see his best friend again. He and Mako stormed through the trees, snapping aside branches, scouring the area for any sign of Téa, Kaiba, or Marik. So far, they'd encountered nothing.

A high-pitched noise shot through his ears. He winced, and clapped his fingers to his ears, trying to block out the irritating sound. He glanced up at Mako Tsunami. The older duelist didn't seem perturbed by the noise; instead he was staring quizzically off into the distance. A few hundred feet away, a fire watch-tower was alight with blue and red sirens.

"I don't smell smoke," Yugi said dubiously. "And it's not fire season."

Mako might not have heard him through the noise, but it didn't matter. They both drew the same conclusion at once. Yugi bolted first, taking off through the trees, and Mako was right behind him.

x

x

Ishizu and Odion had been searching for two hours when they bumped into Joey Wheeler, barreling through the trees and hollering for Téa.

"I was over that way," Joey said breathlessly, pointing to the right. "I didn't hear a thing. I might have missed seeing her, but she'd call back to me, right? She can't be hurt that badly, right?" His voice was pained.

Ishizu squeezed her older brother's hand nervously, her face haggard. "I hope Marik hasn't harmed her or Kaiba," she whispered. Odion shot her a pained look.

"He's not bad, not in his heart," Odion said sadly, hanging his head.

Joey gave a rude snort. "As far as I'm concerned," he began, but fell silent when he caught the look in the sibling's eyes. They were just as worried for their brother as they were for Téa. He sighed, and ran a hand awkwardly through his hair, suddenly feeling exhausted. "Thanks for coming, Odion," he finally muttered.

"Of course," the man replied immediately. "Ishizu told me what was going on. Perhaps I can help Marik regain his-"

Sirens blasted through the air. Ishizu winced and clasped her hands over her ears. Joey whirled around until he found the source of the noise: about a half-mile away, a fire watch-tower.

"Do you think that's them?" Odion roared over the noise.

"It _has_ to be!" Joey shouted back, starting to run. Ishizu and Odion exchanged hopeful glances, and started sprinting after him.

x

x

"No, no, no," Marik muttered frantically, trying to gather Téa in his arms without further damaging her broken bones. "This can't be happening!" He shot a nasty glare at the tower that was betraying him. Kaiba was up there, he knew, but he didn't have time to go after him, much as he wanted to. All he was worried about now was leaving as soon as possible, before Téa's friends showed up.

"You're too late," a deep voice announced from the edge of the clearing. Marik froze, his spine stiffening. Slowly, he turned around to face the Pharaoh.

A second duelist hovered around his shoulder, surveying the scene uncertainly. Yami stepped forward confidently, his dark eyes burning in anger.

"This has gone far enough," Yami said in quiet, righteous tones. "Release Téa and I may spare you the fate you deserve."

Snarling, Marik dropped Téa, but it was only so his hand could fly to the Millennium Rod. Yami reacted quickly, letting his Puzzle unleash a stream of energy, even beyond his own control. It hit Marik directly, and he struggled for a few seconds before bringing the Rod up to intercept the attack.

"Very good," he sneered, sending back a flow of power. To his chagrin, it didn't seem to bother Yami. The Pharaoh just twitched his head slightly, and resumed glaring at Marik.

"Yugi, what can I do?" Mako asked, his voice a tense whisper.

"Stop _him_," Yami said sternly, shifting his gaze slightly past Marik to the boy hovering at the edge of the clearing, looking surprised that Yami knew he was there.

Marik, despite himself, whipped around and saw the tombrobber. His narrow face was pulled back into a snarl, and he was looking straight at Yami. But Bakura had just stepped from the trees. He'd been completely hidden before. How had Yami known he was there…?

It didn't matter. Bakura shook his head. He had planned to take the Puzzle tonight, but one thing after another had ruined his plans. He was now completely outnumbered. He wasn't fool enough to try and cross the Pharaoh at this point, though if an opportunity came up he would certainly take it. Neither was he fool enough to keep his bargain with Marik. One had to be looking after one's own skin, of course. And he could still walk away from this with the Millennium Rod.

Opening his eyes very wide, allowing the essence of Ryou to creep into his demeanor, he shot Marik and Yami bland looks. Inside he was cackling, keeping a close eye on Marik. People were at their funniest when they'd just been double-crossed.

"Oh, my!" he cried in Ryou's British accent. "Is Téa all right? I've been so worried! Is there anything I can do to help, Yugi?"

Marik's eyes narrowed. He was trapped and he knew it. Fury filled his body, he wanted to strangle the tombrobber… but once again, his instinct for self-preservation crept in.

"I'll be back for you, Téa," he vowed softly to the unconscious girl, before turning and preparing to flee. He _wasn't_ prepared, however, for the figure that barreled out of the trees and smashed him with his shoulder.

"Take _that_!" Joey cried as he fell to the ground. Mako rushed forward to help now, snatching the Rod from Marik's hands. Marik cried aloud as they began a desperate tug-of-war, trying to focus his mind to take them over but finding his concentration broken. Abruptly, Joey broke in, whacking Marik's fist and causing him to lose his grip long enough for the stronger Mako to wrench it away. Mako flung it backwards, where it crashed through the brambles and disappeared among the leaves. Yami's eyes flew to Bakura, who controlled his greedy expression just in time and rushed over to Téa, whose eyes were beginning to flutter.

Joey and Mako backed away from Marik, allowing Yami to stride up. That moment, Ishizu and Odion came crashing through the forest and burst into the clearing, panting heavily.

"Oh, Marik," Ishizu murmured, casting her eyes downward. "What have you done?"

"My head," Mai moaned, beginning to stir. Duke, too, sat up, glancing around in puzzlement. Joey rushed over to Mai, helping her stand up, while Mako awkwardly extended a hand to Duke. Mai rose to her feet quickly, swaying only a little, and pushed Joey aside. "I'm fine," she insisted, a small smile playing around her lips. Immediately, the four of them gathered around Téa, shielding her from Marik.

"But who set off the alarm?" Joey wondered aloud, giving Téa the most gentle hug he could. Mai sat down behind Téa, pulling the girl's head onto her lap and stroking her hair reassuringly.

"It's okay, girlfriend," she whispered, combing through Téa's locks. "You'll be fine, hon. At least, after you take a shower."

Joey scowled at Mai, but the comment had made Téa giggle.

"I'll check the tower," Mako said in a low voice, rising. Duke, after giving Téa one of his patented heartbreaking smiles, hurried after him. Bakura continued to crouch beside Téa, biding his time until he could sneak into the woods and retrieve the Rod.

"Sister," Marik said, his eyes wide, retreating slightly. His gaze flew to the Millennium Necklace, back in its usual position.

"Marik," Ishizu said desperately. "Stop this madness!"

"They tried to steal Téa," Marik snarled, still backing up. Odion strode forward, his hand shooting out with surprising speed and grasping Marik's hand.

"You were once my master," Odion said, staring right into his sibling's eyes. "Today, I call you my brother. Please, Marik. Come home with us."

"I can't leave Téa," Marik whispered, wrenching his arm away. He shot a glance at Yami, his crimson eyes flaring up once again in anger.

"Then we cannot allow you to walk free," Yami stated, crossing his arms. "Give it up, Marik. It's over."

"Never!" he snarled, whirling around with surprising speed and head-butting Yami. The Pharaoh stumbled backwards, a look of shock on his face, and Ishizu gasped. She rushed forward to help him, and Odion caught Yami before he fell. Marik, through the blinding pain and dizziness that he'd caused himself, saw all this. "So be it," he muttered angrily, stumbling off to the trees. He might still be able to make it out…

"I heard the sirens," a nasally voice announced itself. Confused, Marik stopped. The world was still spinning. He was starting to regret cracking skulls with Yami. However much it wounded the other, it was crippling him as well, not to mention his thousand other injuries he'd sustained through the night.

His vision focused in on a short pair, standing in front of him. One was wearing a red cap and had his arms folded, scowling at him. The other, the one who'd spoken, was small and stocky, wearing thick glasses and a green jacket, with distinguishing blue hair cut in a cap.

Weevil Underwood exchanged a glance with his partner in the search for Téa, Rex Raptor. Then he calmly raised his hand. He was holding a can of bug spray: Never leave home without it.

He pointed it straight at Marik's eyes and pressed the squirt button.

x

x

Téa slept, her head still in Mai's lap. Seto slept next to her, but Joey had flatly refused to put Seto's head in _his_ lap. Mai's head was resting on Joey's shoulder; she was nursing the headache she still had from the mind-control. Rex and Weevil sat cross-legged next to them, idly scratching shapes in the dirt. Duke, Mako, Yami, Ishizu, and Odion crouched around an unconscious Marik. The Pharaoh had used his Millennium Puzzle to send Marik into a deep, dreamless sleep.

Bakura slipped out of the woods quietly and settled next to Joey. No one gave him a second glance, and he hid his triumphant smile. That was _three_ Millennium Items he possessed now. The Millennium Rod, made invisible to the rest of the world, was tucked securely in the inner loop of his jeans. He would bet anything that Yami, in his concern for Téa, would forget about it until the next day. And now he'd _never_ find it. The Pharaoh's greatest weaknesses had always been his friends. Cackling, he retreated to his soul room. After a few modifications to Ryou's memory, he allowed his light to take over.

"Say, Ryou," Joey said, moving his head carefully so as not to disturb Mai. "How'd you know we were here, anyway? And how'd you know what was wrong with Téa in the first place?"

Looking confused, Ryou searched his memory- and found exactly what Bakura wanted him to. "I was taking a walk when I saw the sirens go off at the Kaiba mansion," he replied in his soft voice. "I called Yugi right away because I thought he could help. He's always tried to give Kaiba a hand before. Then I saw you driving away, and I was worried that something was wrong. I hitchhiked over here."

"Yow," Joey murmured, thinking over the story. Something seemed wrong with it, but he couldn't place his finger on it. It wasn't important, though; everything was going to be fine now. "You were taking a walk awfully late," he mused.

Ryou blushed. "I often have trouble sleeping at night," he murmured, which was true.

"Yeah, I don't think any of us have slept well lately," Joey said, laughing shortly, running his hand through his hair. "That's all gonna change, though, once Marik is out of the picture!" Funny… his hair was longer than he remembered. Softer, too.

"You mess up my curls, Joey Wheeler, and you'll regret it," Mai murmured, her eyes still closed. Startled, he quickly pulled his hand out of her hair.

"Oops," he muttered, turning red. "Sorry… I forgot you were there."

She snorted lightly. "You really know how to flatter a girl," she commented, her cheek resting on the soft fabric of his worn shirt.

Sirens were sounding again, but this time they were softer, and weren't coming from the tower. Mai jerked her head up, looking around, and Joey missed the warm pressure. But lights started dancing in the forest to their right, and he yanked his mind back to more important issues.

"Hey, Yugi!" a voice hollered. "Joey! Téa!"

"Tristan!" Yugi said happily, taking over for Yami and jumping up.

"Tristan's here! Who else was with him?" Mai said eagerly, looking at Joey.

"Two of our classmates," Joey responded, grinning. "Miho and Shiara."

"_And_ the cops, the fire department, and a rescue squad," Miho added, popping into the clearing.

"It was _weird_," Shiara said bluntly. "We'd been trying to call them all night, especially after we saw the sirens going off. We were too far away to get there fast, so we went out of the forest, trying to find help. Finally, after we dialed for the fiftieth time, everyone like snapped out of a trance. They rushed over here and we led them to this fire tower."

The girls then caught sight of Téa and rushed over, squealing. "Téa, girl, I'm so glad you're okay!"

Tristan rushed into the clearing, followed by a dozen men and women in various uniforms. They dispersed immediately, hurrying to the wounded and laying out stretchers.

"What did you tell the girls?" Joey asked Tristan quietly as Mai, Miho, and Shiara helped two of the rescue team ease Téa onto a stretcher.

"That the new guy was stalking Téa because he'd known her before," he replied, scratching the back of his head and giving a great yawn. "Nothing about mind-control."

"It's for the best," Joey reasoned, shrugging off a cop trying to check him for injuries. "I'm fine, buddy!" he snapped.

"Just a little tired," Yugi chimed in, coming up and trailed by someone from the fire department, who began to question the three of them. Two more fire department volunteers climbed the watch-tower. The sirens had long ago been shut off by Mako and Duke, but they checked it over for safety anyway.

Across the clearing, Marik was being handcuffed while Ishizu anxiously made sure the policeman was being gentle. Odion was being questioned by a female cop. "And what is your relationship to this boy?" she asked finally, making a note on her pad.

"He's my brother," Odion said in his deep voice. "But I was adopted."

She nodded in understanding, flipping the pad closed. "We're going to have to lock him up," she stated flatly, and Ishizu and Odion nodded in sad consent. "There'll be a huge trial. It won't be pleasant for any of your friends, particularly the girl in question. It could last weeks."

"There is another option," Ishizu predicted, brushing the Millennium Necklace despondently.

"If you sign the order," the cop said bluntly, dusting off her hands, "We can have him committed to a mental home with no fuss. We have the case. It'd be a private affair, a lock on your story, and you wouldn't have to drag Miss Gardner back into this mess."

"I think that would be best," Ishizu said quietly, leaning against her brother for strength. But Yami came up behind them and gripped her shoulder. She turned slightly to face him, his face questioning. She nodded slightly. "Yes."

x

x

Faint voices argued in the background.

"Hypocrite. I can't believe you carried around bug spray."

"What're you talking about, dino-breath?"

"Hn, watch it, bug-brain. You carried around bug spray. After all the whining you do whenever someone crushes one of your precious insects…"

"You'll never know as much about anything as I know about bugs. And I know how to protect myself from them. Just because I _like_ them doesn't mean I have to wear them. Or let them suck my blood."

"Hey, look! A fly! Someone swat it!"

An indignant squeak: "Don't you _dare_!"

A new voice: "Flies in a hospital? What kinda place _is_ this?"

Téa opened her eyes to blinding white. Groaning, she tried to roll over, but found that she couldn't. Her right arm was in a cast.

She blinked at it for a few seconds before everything came rushing back. Sighing in relief, she flopped back onto the pillows of the nice, clean, warm, safe hospital bed.

"Hey, Téa's all right!" a voice cheered.

She turned her head. Yugi, Joey, Tristan, Ryou, Miho, Shiara, Duke, Mai, even Rex and Weevil and Mako… they were all there, crowded around her bed, beaming at her.

"You're safe," Joey proclaimed happily. "Marik's gone for good, everyone's back to normal- and your parents caught the first flight to Domino. They're in the air as we speak."

"Naah, they've landed by now," Tristan said, checking his watch.

Tears sprung to her eyes and she squeezed them closed. "Thank you, guys," she said, her voice husky. "Thank you so, so much. You are the best friends I could ever ask for."

"Aw, we know," Tristan said, sounding pleased. She let out a choked laugh, and the three girls leaned over to hug her.

"Watch her arm!" Ryou yelped quickly, before blushing red. He took her left hand, squeezing it gently. "You look much better," he assured her quietly. "You got lots of sleep. And you look happier."

"How long was I out for?" she asked, her voice mingled with giggling and sobs.

"Almost two days," Yugi said sheepishly. "But they were giving you lots of stuff, too, to make you sleep longer. Well, they did wake you up to feed you once, but I bet you don't remember it."

"No," she confessed, accepting a handshake from Duke. "You have no idea how relived I am, I'm so happy-"

Shouts, the sound of doors slamming, and heavy stomping all filtered down the hall. Everyone exchanged anxious looks. Téa's heart rose to her throat and she started to feel cold dread before the door swung open and Seto stormed in, bedecked in a hospital gown.

"They didn't want me to leave," he said by way of explanation, feeling everyone's eyes upon him. He started to blush, but decided he wouldn't let himself and forced it away. Instead, he walked to Téa's bedside, taking up her hand. "How are you feeling?" he asked softly.

"Fabulous," she said, smiling directly up at him. "Seto, I can never thank you enough. You saved my life."

He shook his head, embarrassed. "You would have done the same for me," he said, surprising the both of them. Téa didn't stop smiling.

"Yes, I would have."

"I…" Seto hesitated, staring directly into her eyes. He knew what he wanted to say, but he couldn't spit it out. "I…" Suddenly, he became very aware of everyone else in the room staring at him.

"Seto, the nurse is looking for you and she's _not happy_," a very healthy Mokuba warned, sticking his head into the doorway. Serenity followed him, clutching his hand and beaming. "Hey- Téa! You're awake!"

"I'm awake," she repeated, grinning at them. "Hi, guys."

"Oh, Téa," Serenity gasped, disengaging herself from Mokuba and running over to her friend. "I was so worried! But you look wonderful now, so much healthier…"

"Thanks," she said sincerely, giving Serenity an awkward one-armed hug. "I am so lucky to have such wonderful friends," she said, shifting her gaze to Seto. "All of you," she repeated.

He looked uncomfortable. "I should go back to my room," he said, shifting his weight.

"We'll visit you," Joey spoke up, surprisingly. Everyone stared from him back to Seto, who looked shocked.

"You will?" he asked uncertainly, letting his guard down slightly.

"Sure," Joey grinned. Yugi beamed proudly. "Of course we will," Yugi assured Seto.

"We were in there before," Joey said conversationally, leaning his head back against the wall. "But you were sleeping… hey, did you know you drool?" He snickered to himself. Mai rolled her eyes and boxed him in the ear. "Ow!"

"Nice, Wheeler," Seto growled, before whirling around and beginning to travel back to his own room.

"Kaiba!" Several voices called out.

"What?" he asked, his voice suspiciously absent of the usual curt edge. Still, no one was brave enough to respond. Mokuba finally spoke up.

"Aaah… the thing about hospital gowns. They don't tie in the back."

Seto froze a moment. Slowly, his hand crept behind him and felt bare back. He moved his hand down, slightly panicked, until he encountered the waistband of his boxers. He heaved a sigh of relief.

"Thanks," he grinned, then exited. Yugi and Téa exchanged wide-eyed looks.

"Did Kaiba just say thanks?" Joey asked in a stunned voice.

"Téa!"

"Mom! Dad!"

Aaron and Aimee Gardner practically flew into the room. Aimee was in hysterical tears, and Aaron's face was worn and exhausted. "Oh my God, what were we _thinking_?" Aimee sobbed, clutching her daughter. "How could we _leave_ you? What's _wrong_ with us?"

One by one, Téa's friends tiptoed out, leaving them alone. "I love you," Téa sniffled, salty tears streaming down her face.

"I love you too, sweetie," Aimee cried. "You mean everything to your father and me, Téa. We'll never leave you again, I'm so _sorry_!"

"It's not your fault," Téa sniffled, although she knew she couldn't tell them the truth. "Believe me, it's not your fault. This whole thing has been so messed up… but everything's okay now. I'm safe."

"You're safe," Aaron repeated, clutching her hand. "We'll keep you safe always."

"My friends will, too," Téa said quietly, still hugging her mother dearly. "Always."


	8. Epilogue

Nightmare

x

Disclaimer: (which Seto refused to let me post this chapter without): Seto Kaiba (cold, severe, unsmiling bastard that he is) is in no way responsible for the severe mushiness DSF forces him to exhibit in this epilogue. He especially despises the ending and will deny this whole thing ever happened should you ask him tomorrow.

And, since at least one person asked- I did _think_ about a sequel to this, dealing with Bakura's possession of the Millennium Rod, the link that still exists between the Rod and Serenity ('member that? :P), and Seto and Téa's fragile relationship. But… even after outlining all that for you, I'm going to pass on this one. It's partly due to a lack of real interest on my part, partly due to severe time and energy constraints this year. If anyone else wants to do it, feel free to as long as you tell me beforehand. I'm not trying to _get_ anyone to do it- I've just had previous experiences with people wanting to write my sequels. Like I said, fine by me if that's something that interests you.

x

x

Epilogue

x

Seto waited all day to approach Téa. His reason was obvious: This was the first day in two months she'd come to school without a cast, and everyone was crowded around her, wishing her luck. He stayed away from the throngs of people, for the most part. Yugi and most of their friends had been pushed to the edge of the crowd as well, taking it with a grin. After all, it had been they who had been by her side the most, and they had faith that they'd be spending a lot of time with her in the future.

Seto, on the other hand, had barely spoken to Téa since she got discharged from the hospital four days after him. He'd visited her twice; once while she was asleep. He'd sat by her bed for an hour, ignoring the grateful thanks of her parents, before quietly standing up and exiting without any fanfare. He'd passed by Yugi and Wheeler on his way out, but the three of them reached some form of mutual understanding and ignored each other.

The second time, he'd hovered around the hospital until all her friends were gone, then slipped in after hours. She'd sensed his need to not be praised for all his brave deeds- he'd had quite enough of that from Mokuba and Serenity- and they'd carried on a quiet, inane conversation on all the homework they'd been assigned in the week they'd been absent. Seto slipped out before long, avoiding all the nurses who'd come to recognize him. He'd gone straight home and slept for ten hours.

But once they were both back at school, things returned to normal, except that they each had half the class hanging over their shoulder at any given moment. Seto had dispersed of his admirers soon enough, after vowing to decapitate whoever had gone around gushing about his bravado. Téa had been her perpetual cheerful self, with a smile for everyone and a gift for turning the conversation away from herself. Sometimes he wondered about her. How could she stand it all?

He was pretty sure he was the only one, aside from Yugi, Joey, and Tristan, who saw how her eyes glazed over and her thoughts drifted after putting up with the rest of the goons in their class for long enough.

At lunch on the first day Téa came back without a cast, Seto was sitting in his usual isolated spot in the cafeteria. The table Téa usually sat at with Yugi, Joey, Tristan, and Duke was swamped with students. He couldn't catch a glimpse of any of them, least of all Téa, so he wasn't really aware of Yugi's absence until the boy came up and sat across from him.

Seto glanced up slowly, raising an eyebrow. Yugi simply beamed back at him, as if this was the most natural thing in the world.

"Hey, are we sitting here today?" an infamous voice- at least in Seto's book- sounded, and Wheeler swung a leg over the chair and plopped down next to Yugi. Tristan soon joined them, sitting next to Joey and putting his feet up on the next chair over; and Duke took the seat on the other side of Yugi.

The four boys began talking happily about the newest cards in Duel Monsters, and then Duke mentioned Dungeon Dice Monsters, and their conversation shifted to that for a little while. Seto ate in silence, listening to them talking. It didn't hit upon him that he was _listening_ to them for a few minutes- and the thought didn't bother him as much as it should have. It wasn't like he was doing it intentionally, after all. And it was kind of nice (but he'd die before saying that aloud).

"Hey," Tristan said, switching conversation topics abruptly. "Whatever happened to the Millennium Rod?"

Everyone at the table, Seto included, stiffened varying degrees. And everyone, even Seto, leaned in unconsciously to form a circle, so no one else could listen in.

"I went back to the forest to look for it the next day," Yugi said solemnly. "But it was gone. I couldn't even remember where it was thrown, but I trampled everything in a circle for at least fifty feet around the tower. Nothing."

"The growth is really thick in that area," Duke said dubiously. "Mai and I got separated because I got stuck in a patch of thorns. The Rod could be tangled up in some bush or tree, and you'll _never_ find it."

"Maybe," Yugi said grimly. "You'd think my Puzzle could sense it, though…"

"Maybe you can get Ryou Bakura to help you," Tristan offered.

"Yeah, his Ring is supposed to be able to find the other items, right?" Joey chimed in.

Slowly, everyone's gazes turned to Ryou. He was eating across the room with a small group of other students renowned for their quiet personalities; they were all spread out slightly so they weren't too close. Some were doing homework; Ryou was reading a book.

"I'll ask him later," Yugi said slowly, something flickering in his eyes.

Seto shrugged, then realized what a bad move it was. He just called attention to himself. Joey looked directly at him, then moved his gaze around the table. Everyone realized at once that they were in such a small, tight circle.

Seto pulled back, embarrassed, but Joey dove into his backpack. "Hold on, I've got a marker," he said, his voice muffled from under the table.

Seto raised an eyebrow at Yugi. Yugi and Tristan were rolling their eyes and grinning. "Hands out," Yugi said cheerfully, putting his right hand out. Tristan stuck his out to join him. Realization struck Duke, and his eyes abruptly turned grateful and happy. He finally felt like he belonged somewhere. Slowly, he put his hand out to join his friends'.

Joey emerged from rummaging around his backpack, clutching a permanent marker and grinning with triumph. "Okay," he said, sticking his hand out and nearly completing the circle. "Come on, Kaiba. This stuff might not wash off, but you'll lose the top layer of your skin eventually, so no worries."

"What?" Seto asked, highly doubtful, and stubbornly crossing his arms.

"Come on, Kaiba," Yugi encouraged as well. "Put your hand in the circle."

"The circle of friendship," Tristan added, ignoring Kaiba's snort.

"I'm gonna mark us with a special sign," Joey quipped, sounding like he was quoting someone. Yugi grinned, and Duke hadn't lost his sappy, glazed-over look. Seto rolled his eyes at Devlin. He was _not_ going to act like that. He wasn't grateful that Yugi and Joey and Tristan had decided to take him in, or whatever. He didn't need friends.

"Palm down, Kaiba," Joey said cheerfully.

"Any day now," Tristan added, bobbing his own hand up and down vigorously.

Without his consent, Seto's right hand snaked out to join the other four. _'Come back here_!' he commanded it, but it didn't listen. _'Stupid hand!__ Traitor! No, no, NO!_'

The second Seto's hand bumped sides with Tristan and Duke's, Joey started scribbling across the five of them. "There!" he said proudly.

Seto stared at the mess on the back of his own hand, then the drawing as a whole. "What's _that_ supposed to be?"

"It's a lock," Joey declared, looking injured.

Seto snickered despite himself. "A lock?"

"I'm with Kaiba on that one," Tristan said, shaking his head. "It looks more like a Kuriboh after it's been mauled by one of his Blue-Eyes."

"Hey!" Yugi and Joey protested at the same time.

"I think it looks like a lock," Yugi said loyally. Joey grinned.

"Thanks, Yug."

"Mauled by a Blue-Eyes," Tristan repeated quietly. He, Duke, and Kaiba all shook with quiet laughter.

And then Seto realized he'd just laughed.

At a joke told by Tristan.

With them.

What was this world coming to? What was wrong with him?

His eyes abruptly came into contact with Téa. She was staring at their group longingly from across the room. They met gazes briefly before more of her friends closed in around her and she was cut off from his sight.

Yugi must have seen Téa as well, because he piped up. "Oh, but Joey! What about Téa? She deserves to be marked, too!"

'_Branded, more like_,' Seto thought wryly. _'I've been branded as one of them. Good grief, what will Mokuba do?'_

_'Cheer, most probably. And eat cake. And make me eat cake.'_

"No worries, buddy," Joey assured Yugi. "You know I'd never forget about Téa."

"What are you going to do?" Duke asked skeptically.

"On her hand?" Joey grinned in self-satisfaction. "She's gonna get the key."

They took a moment to appreciate Joey's profoundness, then Duke broke the silence. "I'll draw it," he said, snatching the marker from Joey and sliding back his chair. "You can't draw for anything."

"Hey!" Joey protested, but Duke was already crossing the room. Tristan snickered a little, and hurried after Duke. Joey heaved a sigh, and plunked his elbows down on the table. "I'm not appreciated," he muttered.

"No, I think you're appreciated for about all you're worth," Seto said with a sly grin. It took Joey a moment to catch on.

"He-ey!"

"Guys," Yugi sighed, reprimanding them lightly. "Quit fooling around."

A voice in the back of Seto's head was screeching in protest. '_Fool around? I don't fool around! Particularly not with Wheeler!'_ He ignored it.

"Anyway, it was a good idea, Joey," Yugi continued. "We've all been through a lot with- and for- Téa." Seto and Joey both nodded lightly in agreement.

"You know," Yugi said, leaning back in his chair and deliberately not looking at Kaiba, "I've heard a lot about people in stressful situations. How it tends to throw them together."

"Yeah, that's true," Joey said agreeably, not noticing how Seto had stiffened slightly. "I never thought I'd be friends with- ah, never mind."

Yugi rolled his eyes. "Yeah, it can get people to be friends, and sometimes more. When people share a common life-threatening experience- even risk their lives for one another- it brings out new emotions. It's even caused people to fall in love before." Satisfied, he took a bite of his sandwich.

Joey looked like someone had dumped a bucket of water on his head as he tried to work out what Yugi meant. "…Huh? Are you talking about you and Ishizu?"

Yugi choked on his food. "_Ishizu_? What? Since when-? Jo_-ey_!" he said in frustration. "You are so dense!" He shoved his chair back and stomped out of the room. "Bell's going to ring in a few," he shot back over his shoulder, throwing the remainder of his lunch in the trashcan forcibly.

"Huh? What'd I say?" Joey also pushed back his chair and followed him.

The bell rung then, an ear-splitting and highly irritating sound. Seto rose slowly, lost in his own thoughts. Through the crowd, he saw Téa again. Again, she was staring right at him. When their gazes locked, she shot him a small smile and held up her hand to display the key. His heart clenching, he slowly lifted his hand to show her the scribbled lines.

Maybe Yugi knew more than he'd given him credit for.

And Wheeler wasn't full of bad ideas _all_ the time. Just 99 of it.

x

x

After school, as Seto was walking out the door, he distinctly heard Téa's voice. "No, you guys don't need to walk me home," she was telling her friends. "I'll be _fine_ on my own. I could use a peaceful walk."

Amid the chorus of good-byes, Seto's pace doubled. He made it out to his car in record time, threw his briefcase in ahead of him, and gave the driver very new and very specific directions.

When Téa rounded the bend two blocks from her street, she found Seto waiting for her, just as she'd known he would be. He was alone, and somehow changed out of his school uniform. He was standing with his back to her, a light breeze ruffling his hair and wrapping his stark-white trenchcoat around his legs.

Approaching him steadily, the warm feeling in Téa's chest grew until she was standing directly behind him. She waited, not saying anything. After a minute, Seto turned around.

"Hi," she said softly, grateful she spit the word out without stuttering. But she was blushing, she could feel it.

"Hi." They held gazes, for much longer this time. Then Seto slowly held an arm out. "May I carry your bag?"

Her face tomato-red, she handed it over without thought. "Where's your stuff?"

"In the car." He didn't elaborate. They began walking again, very slowly, not exchanging any words for a while.

"We haven't really talked for two months," Téa said quietly.

"I know…" Seto's voice trailed off, and she snuck a quick peek at his eyes. Was that guilt she was seeing there? Surely not.

"I wanted…" Once again, his voice trailed off, and he blew out an exasperated breath. Why couldn't he just say what he meant?

"I wanted to give you some space," he said finally. "You went through one hell of a nightmare. I didn't want to just… I thought you needed some time to heal."

'_Does that mean…_'

"You were probably right," Téa admitted to herself. "I couldn't have handled starting… anything."

"Time to heal," Seto repeated quietly to himself. Inside, his heart was soaring. _'Does she mean…_'

"Do you think two months is time enough?" she asked rhetorically, stopping in her tracks. He turned to face her.

"That's up to you," he said quietly.

For the first time, she thought about it. Moments passed, the late afternoon sky etched in perfect blue, with lazily drifting plumes of white. The sun was in Seto's eyes, and he bowed his head down to escape its blinding rays.

"Two months is time enough to start the healing process," she answered finally. "But I don't think I'll heal alone."

"You'd never have to," he replied automatically. "You have all your friends."

She nodded slowly, tentatively putting her hand out. "I have my friends to guard my soul. Will you…"

"Will I what?" he asked in a whisper, taking her hand oh-so-gently.

She started to say something, then thought better of it. Carefully rephrasing her words, she asked quietly, "Will you help keep my heart safe?"

Seto took a deep breath, rubbing his thumb over the key scribbled on her pale flesh.

"As long as I can."

They started walking again, Seto holding Téa's hand as carefully as he would hold something made of spun glass. But her grip tightened on its own, and so he grasped it more firmly.

When they said good-bye at her doorstep, Seto leaned down slightly, as if preparing to kiss her. But there was something in her eyes, something small, frightened, and insecure. So instead he lifted her hand and brushed his lips against it, then released her quickly. He didn't miss the relief in her eyes.

But neither did he miss the faint traces of longing as she leaned against the frame of the door, watching him make his way out of her driveway and down the street. Then the door swung open behind her and her parents stepped out, and Seto stopped his progress to watch them embrace. Téa laughed at something, her clean shiny hair swinging around her porcelain face. Her crystal blue eyes were alive again.

Seto continued on his way; birds were singing off in the distance and he felt ridiculously happy. Téa was starting to heal. Physically, she was 100 better, as the removal of the cast and the regaining of her outer beauty had symbolized.

Emotionally and mentally, she had been scarred. Marik's twisted playing with her mind- both figuratively and literally- had left scars on her. But that was something they had in common. Seto had scars too, scars from his past, that he'd tried countless times to destroy. But he was finally starting to understand something about healing, and that was that it didn't happen all at once. You needed _time_ to heal; you couldn't jump into new things right away. And maybe two battered people could find each other, and that would help the healing.

He had Mokuba. Mokuba had Serenity. Serenity had her older brother. Wheeler had Yugi. Yugi had Téa. Téa had… him.

Most importantly, they all had each other.

He was accustomed to patience. He could wait for Téa to heal. And he would be there every step of the way, to guide her, just as her other friends would be.

Nightmares didn't last forever. Eventually, you would wake up, and there would be the clean air and the beautiful sky and the sweet grass and the friends that were _real_.

And that _did _last forever.


End file.
